Stark Investigations
by Moultipass1
Summary: "So, what can I do for you, M. Waters?" "I want you to find my father." *Sounds simple*. But of course, she knew it probably wasn't. Under normal circumstances, people didn't need a PI to get in touch with their relatives. - Modern AU in which Arya's a private investigator and Gendry hires her to find his father.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! I know I said I was going to finish A flicker of hope first, but I'm just so excited about this story that I couldn't resist posting the first chapter :)**

**This is my first attempt at modern AU. Let me know if I should continue this. Given what I have planned, it's probably going to be a lot of work and sleepless nights, and I want to do the wise thing and not get too excited if no one's going to read it (although knowing me, I might keep writing it anyway just to keep my muse happy for a while).**

**Rated T for now, will probably go up to M at some point, I'm not sure yet.**

**Disclaimer: none of the characters belong to me, I'm just playing with them for a while**

* * *

_C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!_

Fingers impatiently tapping the steering wheel, Arya Stark took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee and made a face. The beverage hadn't been that good to begin with, but when it'd been scalding hot, it had at least helped keep her awake.

_C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!_

Contrary to popular belief, she was a very patient woman. How else would she put up with being stuck in a car for hours on end with nothing to do but stare at closed doors until something interesting happened? But this time was different. She'd been on this case for days, she'd barely gotten any sleep, and she had a very important appointment in the morning. She needed to get some rest.

_C'mon you cheating bastard, give me something!_

A growl in the passenger seat drew her attention away from the spot she'd been watching and she muttered a soft "Sorry", stilling her fingers, silence filling the car once again as the huge dog sitting next to her rested her head on the dashboard.

Nymeria didn't like it when she was nervous. To be fair, it rarely happened anymore, not much could unsettle her enough that she'd show her emotions this openly. She'd learned very early in life that the more you displayed fear of any kind, the more people would try and take advantage of it.

She glanced at her watch and groaned when she realized that even if the guy showed up right this second, she wouldn't get more than four hours of sleep. Maybe she should call it a night. Her client was paying by the hour, which meant it would be okay if she had to come back tomorrow night. Then again, if she was lucky, she would get more clues on a much more important case in the morning, and if that happened, she wanted the freedom to investigate without having to worry about this damn unfaithful divorcee-to-be.

Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and mentally prepared herself for another sleepless night. Not like she wasn't used to it.

It was another hour before the motel door she'd been staring at for the last few nights cracked open. Grabbing her most prized possession, she positioned the lens so that the door was its main focus, anticipation making her heart beat frantically in her chest. Was she finally going to get...

A man came out of the room, his clothes and hair so disheveled he might as well have a 'just got laid' tattoo on his forehead. She smirked as she took one picture after the other, knowing what would come next. Sure enough, the guy turned back and leaned down to kiss the blonde super-model who had just followed him out. _Amateurs_.

Their embrace grew more passionate, like they hadn't just spent half the night going at it like rabbits, and Arya rolled her eyes. Honestly, she didn't understand how people could get so carried away. It was like they weren't even _trying_ to control their urges. How they managed to get anything done was a wonder. The two lovebirds finally parted, but it was too late for them. _Gotcha_, she thought with a predatory smile.

Before starting her car and going home, she checked the pictures she had just taken, silently thanking whoever had invented the first digital camera. Her job would have been that much harder if she'd had to wait before she could see her photos.

She stopped browsing when she found the one she'd been looking for. The gorgeous blonde's hand was clearly sneaking inside her lover's pants to cup his ass, and his hand was down the front of her top while his lips devoured hers.

Arya's smile grew larger.

_Money shot!_

* * *

She slipped the five snapshots she had just printed into a big brown envelop and placed it in her top-left drawer before settling back in front of her computer. She had an invoice to make out. How much she charged her clients depended on how wealthy they were, and the woman who had hired her to find proof of her husband's infidelity was very wealthy, she'd noticed that as soon as she'd set foot in her office. Not that the woman had been trying to be subtle about it. When Arya had told her she'd take the job for a hundred bucks an hour, she'd just nodded wordlessly. She had put a little over 70 hours of work in this case, which meant she should have been set for the month... if she hadn't been late on her rent, and on pretty much every single bill she had received in the last few weeks. As it was, this check would cover her debts and buy her and Nymeria food for the next two weeks, but that was it. She needed to start refusing clients again. When she'd started in the business almost a year ago, that's what she'd done: only take the case if the client was rich enough that she could charge a lot even for an easy job. She'd been able to save up that way, but this money was gone. Over the last couple of months, she'd agreed to a few poorly-paid missions, a bad decision on her part. Plus, there was this one case that she kept working on for free, she was losing a lot of money because of it.

Sighing, she raised her arms over her head in an attempt to stretch her muscles. She'd spent way too much time in her car over the past few days, she hadn't even found the time to go for a run or to practice with Syrio, and the inactivity was making her edgy. Even if she was already drenched in sweat just sitting there, since her air-conditioning was down _again_. Oh, how she hated California and longed for home. To be fair, in the summer, home was hot as hell, maybe hotter than it got here, but the chill of winter more than made up for it. It was as if during those six months, she stored up on coldness, and that helped get her through the torture that were June, July and August. This year, she'd had to live through her first snowless winter, and that had made her sadder than she'd expected. Being away from her family, she could handle, even if she did miss her brothers. But feeling like she was nowhere near where she belonged was harder.

Her appointment was in another hour. She had decided against sleep when she'd realized that she would only be able to close her eyes for something like two hours. She wouldn't be near rested enough anyway, might as well wait until after her appointment and then crash for eight to ten blissful hours.

Her lazy yawn was interrupted when Nymeria, who was lying at her feet, gave a single bark, and her eyes snapped open. Behind the white glass door that separated her office from the hallway, she could make out the silhouette of a man as he knocked and waited. She sat very still, hoping whoever it was hadn't heard the bark and would assume no one was there. She really didn't feel like dealing with anyone right now.

"Hello?"

She didn't recognize the voice, which meant it was probably no one she owed money to. That was good at least.

"Is anyone here?"

_Please go away._

"I can see you, you know."

_Damn it._ She'd hoped that from where he was standing, her small frame would be concealed behind the computer screen. Resigned, she stood up and walked to the door to open it. Who knew, it could be a wealthy... Her thoughts were interrupted when she found herself looking at a broad chest covered in black and she had to raise her head to see the face that went with it. Something she was used to. What she _hadn't_ expected was the clear blue gaze that met hers in obvious amusement. The teasing eyes were the exact same color as a winter sky back home, and she found herself speechlessly drowning in them for a moment as the longing hit her harder than ever.

"Trying to ignore a potential client? That can't be good for business."

Her distraction and homesickness forgotten, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

"Yeah, well, neither is killing one for intruding at 6 a.m."

He chuckled, clearly unrepentant.

"Good point."

He extended his hand, but she just glared at it, unwilling to give this stranger even an inch of ground until he at least gave her an explanation as to why he was here so early. Most people didn't come by unannounced before the sun was fully up, it was just rude.

"I was going to come during my lunch break, but since I only get thirty minutes, I wanted to make sure I knew the way..."

"And when you saw someone was there, you decided to try your luck," she completed.

"Pretty much."

He pointedly looked down at his hand. She sighed, but shook it.

"I'm Gendry Waters."

The name sounded familiar, yet she was certain she had never met him before. Odd.

"Arya Stark."

"I figured."

Maybe it was obvious to him since the name was on the door, but most people thought she was an assistant or something like that. She looked too young and frail to be a PI, which was often to her advantage.

"How old are you?"

She gave him an exasperated look, annoyed that he'd asked. Why did it matter to people? As long as she was up for the job, they really shouldn't care whether she was 64 or, say, 19.

"19."

"Right."

She narrowed her eyes. He clearly didn't believe her, and she was not in the mood to deal with it.

"If you think I'm too young, find someone else to do whatever it is you wanted me to do. Or do it yourself and get killed or arrested, I don't care."

She motioned towards the hallway, thinking he would be so disconcerted by her hostile attitude that he'd just leave like most people would have. Instead, he pushed past her to enter her office, and she was so surprised that she didn't make a move to stop him. Nymeria was on her feet and in front of him before he could sit down in one of the two seats reserved for clients. Arya smirked at the frightening picture her dog made with her teeth bared, fully expecting the intruder to run away screaming. Instead, he went down on one knee and held out his hand, palm up so she could smell it, in the most non-threatening gesture possible. Arya's jaw dropped open. Nymeria looked as taken aback as she felt. She took a step back and sat down, watching this strange guy with her big head slightly tilted to one side, her look quizzical. There was only silence and stillness for a minute, then the huge dog sniffed the offered hand, snorted disdainfully and went back to her nap. Arya stared at the man in awe as he stood up and turned to look at her.

"She looks like a wolf. Scary beast."

"Yeah, I can tell you're terrified," she spat, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she walked past him to take her seat behind her desk, resigned.

She had no doubt she could throw him out herself, but Nymeria's behavior intrigued her enough that she decided she wanted to know more about this guy and the reason why he wanted to hire her. While her dog hadn't exactly been friendly, she'd clearly been curious enough to decide not to tear his throat open, and that was the most welcoming Arya had seen her in a while.

"So, what can I do for you, M. Waters?"

"I want you to find my father."

_Sounds simple_. But of course, she knew it probably wasn't. Under normal circumstances, people didn't need a PI to get in touch with their relatives. She needed more information before she decided if she was going to take the case.

"Do you know him?"

"No. He left before I was born."

"Name?"

He shook his head. That's what she had been afraid of. With a name, things would have been ten times easier. But then he probably wouldn't be here.

"Nationality? Age? Picture? Hair? Eyes?" Each one of her questions brought a new shake of his head and she ended with a frustrated, "Anything?"

"Sorry."

"What about your mother?"

"She died when I was ten. Never talked about him."

She sighed and finally got a good look at him. Until then, she had been distracted successively by his amazing blue eyes, her annoyance, Nymeria's attitude, and the business-like conversation. But now, she took her time gathering clues, from the plain black t-shirt he was wearing to the good-as-new sneakers, from the worn jeans to the simple sport watch. Not poor, but certainly not rich enough to afford her prices now that she'd decided to be more selective. He was also strikingly handsome in this I-don't-even-know-it sort of way she'd always found appealing, but that wasn't the point of her little observation.

"How much do you think this will cost?"

"The real question is how much can I afford to pay, isn't it?"

She conceded his point with a nod. He ran a hand through his thick black hair, showing uncertainty for the first time, and admitted, "Not much."

She raised an expectant eyebrow and waited.

"5000."

For that kind of price, she would have tailed another unfaithful husband or wife, she would have helped someone cross the border, she would have gone to Tijuana to bring back another escaped criminal. Hell, for that kind of price, she might have tried to find his father if she'd had even the slightest clue where to begin. But this case? Not a chance.

"I'm sorry. But with so little information..."

"Yeah, I know."

She frowned. He'd suspected she wasn't going to take his case, yet he'd gone through the trouble of coming anyway. Interesting.

"Why now?"

If he was surprised that this was her main question, he didn't show it.

"I just turned 25."

"So?"

"There was a clause in my mum's will. About this letter I wasn't supposed to open until I was 25."

She was intrigued.

"What did it say?"

"Something about siblings."

She kept silent for a while after that, trying to grasp what it meant.

"So, you're not really trying to find your father. You want to find your brothers and sisters. Why didn't you say so? It could be easier."

"I doubt it. See, my mother didn't know anything useful about them, not even how many there are."

"Do you have the letter?"

"Not here, no. But I could show it to you."

She leaned back in her chair, thinking. She really shouldn't be considering this. With the new clues she was hoping to get about this other case, she wouldn't have one second to spare in the next couple of months or so, and he couldn't pay enough anyway. Still, it wouldn't take long to read the letter and see if there was anything useful in it. If there wasn't, she would just send him on his way. She gently pushed Nymeria with her foot. Her dog raised her head and looked her straight in the eye in that unsettling way of hers, like she could read her mind, and she gave her shin a nudge with her nose. Arya smiled and shook her head at her own insanity. Then she wrote her personal address on a piece of paper and handed it to the man.

"Bring me the letter tonight at 8. But I'm not promising anything."

"I didn't think you were."

* * *

He was late. Of course. Yoren was _never_ late. Except today, when she would have killed to get this over with so that she could shower and go to bed.

Ok, so it was only four minutes. But still.

She jumped to her feet when she heard the knock on the door and she nearly knocked it down in her haste to talk to him.

"What do you have?"

"And hello to you too."

"Shut up!"

She pulled him inside and slammed the door behind him. When she noticed the folder he was carrying, she tried to snatch it out of his hands, but he hid it behind his back, his face more serious than ever. She knew he wasn't messing with her just for fun, that wasn't his style. He probably had something to say before he showed her what was in the file.

Yoren was a cop. But not just any cop, as he had proven many times in the past, starting with a year ago, when she had just arrived from Canada and she'd gone to the police station to ask some inconvenient questions. She'd barely set foot in the building when he'd seen her and dragged her out. Startled, she'd followed him without question, and he'd explained. He'd known her father, and he'd seen her picture in his wallet once, along with those of her brothers and sister. So he knew who she was, and since he had been quick to put two and two together, he also knew why she was here. He was more than willing to help her, as long as she followed a few rules.

She'd agreed, and that had been the start of a very weird association. Though they didn't like each other very much since she was too reckless and insolent for his taste, and he was too solemn and angry for hers, they did trust each other... to a certain extent.

"I managed to get more details about your father's comings and goings in the weeks before he died."

Oh yeah, interesting fact about Yoren: he was investigating her father's murder.

* * *

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Since some of you seem to be interested in seeing where I'm going to take this story, I guess I'll keep writing it :) thanks so much for the reviews, favorites and alerts!**

**I'll try to update every two weeks, most likely on Thursdays since Wednesdays are usually not too busy at work, but I'm moving in a few days, so I don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter. I'll try not to make you wait too long.**

* * *

Snuggled on her couch, wearing her oversized Canucks jersey over a pair of shorts, a beer in one hand, her cell phone in the other, and an open folder in her laps, Arya let out a contented sigh. She had slept for the better part of the day. When she'd woken up around 4 p.m., she'd gone for a run with Nymeria, then she'd come back home to shower and eat a pizza. She felt more human now than she had in days. And the best part was, since she was probably going to be up all night thanks to her messed-up sleep schedule, she could spend a few hours playing video games online with Jon, who'd had the stupid idea of moving to England two years ago. He hadn't answered her text yet, but since it was just past 3 in the morning in Oxford, she didn't expect him to for another four hours, which gave her just enough time to go over the new information Yoren had given her before the words started to blur and she'd need to take a break anyway.

She'd sent a message to Waters, asking him if he could come over an hour earlier than they'd planned, since she had slept a bit less than she'd thought she would. He would be here any minute now, and her mind wandered back to their meeting this morning. She had to admit she was intrigued. He'd been very matter-of-fact in the way he'd talked about his father walking out on his mother, about his mother's death, and about those siblings he hadn't known existed until a few days ago. It was like he didn't really care, though she knew better than to trust appearances. Still, she knew why she kept her façade on most of the time, but she didn't understand why he felt like he needed to play a part. Letting people know he cared about getting in touch with what was left of a family he'd never known couldn't hurt him.

She shook her head when she heard the doorbell ring. It wasn't any of her business. She'd read the letter, decide she wanted nothing to do with this case, and forget about him. And about the enticing muscles subtly outlined underneath his t-shirt, she mentally added as she opened the door and stepped aside to let him in. She rolled her eyes when she saw his gaze linger on her bare legs. At least _she'd_ been discreet in her appreciation.

"See something you like?"

"Very much."

His bluntness surprised her. Most men backed off as soon as they heard _that_ tone and saw _that_ glare. She couldn't decide if this was a nice change, or just annoying.

"Then you better pray I don't take your case, because I don't mix business with pleasure."

He grinned.

"The way I see it, that's a win-win for me."

Before she could think of a reply, he handed her a folded piece of paper, getting down to business. She took it as she walked back to her couch, shooing Nymeria away so he could sit down next to her. Wordlessly, she handed him a beer as she started reading.

_Hi Honey,_

_I have no idea what kind of man you're going to become, and for that I'm sorry. I wish I could stay with you longer, but that's just not the way it's supposed to be. I also wish I could tell you in person everything I'm about to write, but a letter will have to do._

_First of all, know that I love you, and while my life hasn't always been easy, I wouldn't change a thing, because each one of your smiles is worth a decade of happiness._

_Cheesy_, she thought before she remembered that the woman who had written this had been dead for 15 years and those had been her last words to her son. She pushed back her embarrassment at how disrespectful her mind had just been and kept reading.

_I know you always resented me for not telling you about your father, and I'm sorry but I'm not going to tell you about him now. I obviously don't know what your life is like, but I do know you're probably better off without him. He's not a bad man, he's just... not worth your time. He certainly never thought you were worth his. _

_I will tell you this: you're not the only child he left behind. I've heard rumors about him in the last few years, and I know at least two of them are based on facts. I don't know anything about those kids, and to be honest I don't want to know, but if you value the concept of family at all, and if you're as stubborn at 25 as you were at 10, I'm guessing you will want to meet them. I hope you can, and I hope it will bring you whatever it is you seek, but sadly I cannot help you find them. _

_I am so, so sorry that I have to leave you, my little angel. _

_Love,_

_Mum_

Ok. So not only was this letter useless as far as finding his father or his siblings went, she now felt like she'd intruded on something she had no right to be a part of, and while Waters had willingly given her the letter, she felt bad about reading something so personal. She felt like she should say something about how sorry she was for what he'd had to go through, or about how his mother sounded like a wonderful person, but she'd never been very good at this emotional stuff.

"A social security number would have been nice."

She was grateful to hear his laugh and she looked at him at last. He didn't seem the least bit bothered by the fact that a complete stranger had just been privy to the most painful parts of his life and had reacted with a joke.

"I know, right? So, what do you think?"

Her face went serious again. He seemed to be a smart man, she couldn't believe he was really asking.

"You have to _know_ what I think."

He nodded but didn't say anything. For the first time in years, she felt like she had to explain herself.

"It's just that with so little to go on, it would be weeks before I got a name, if we were lucky enough to get even that. And then it would mean more research to get a location, and more weeks to get you to him, because this guy clearly doesn't want anything to do with you. Sorry," she added when she realized how that must have sounded.

"How much?" he asked.

"Not the kind of money you have, I suspect."

He didn't look offended, when she knew by experience most people would have. It was one of the reasons it was hard for her to make friends with anyone (well that, and the fact that she didn't _want_ to make friends). People were easy to offend, and she had no time to waste in pleasantries. She spoke her mind, and damn the consequences. Most people, especially guys, ran away screaming once they realized that about her. And here was this man she'd managed to insult in three or four different ways in the short day she'd known him, and he just took it all without batting an eye.

"Oh, I know. I'm just curious. How much?"

She sighed. Was he going to try and find the money anyway? This was California, while she had been in no way naive when she'd moved here, in a year, she had found out just how far people were willing to go for money. He didn't seem like the criminal type, but again, appearances.

"15000, no guaranties."

This was a low estimation. Most PIs wouldn't take a case as complicated as this one for less than 20000 dollars, plus expenses.

"That's a lot of money."

"That's a lot of work."

She thought he was going to drop it, but instead he suddenly looked at her with an intensity that would have frightened most people.

"Then help me look for him myself."

"What?"

"5000, that's all I have. 5000 dollars, and you let me follow you around long enough for me to get the gist of this research thing." She was about to protest, but he held out a hand and continued, "You won't have to teach me anything. I'll just observe. I won't waste one minute of your time."

She opened her mouth to decline for countless good reasons, but she suddenly reconsidered. 5000 dollars, and she had absolutely nothing to do to earn it but let this harmless guy follow her around for a few days. Who could resist that, especially with the state her finances were in?

"I don't think you will find him on your own," she warned truthfully.

"I'm sure I won't if I don't try."

That brought a small smile to her lips as she remembered his mother's words. It seemed he was as stubborn as the woman had implied.

"Ok, look, I'm not working on this kind of case right now, but as soon as..."

"That's okay. I'm sure I can learn a lot from your other cases."

She frowned at his insistence, mostly because she hadn't been completely honest. There _was_ someone she needed to find, and she only had an alias to start her research with, but it had something to do with her father's murder, and she didn't want to share this investigation with him. Then again, it could be weeks or even months before anyone hired her to find someone and Waters would get something worthwhile to observe, and she needed the money now. Besides, she could understand his impatience. Sighing, she held out her hand.

"We're gonna need a few ground rules."

* * *

"Can you hear me?"

"_It's like you're next to me."_

"Good."

"_So, what's up Nym'?"_

It was an old habit of theirs. When they played online, they always called each other by their aliases.

"_Nothing I want to talk about right now."_

"Father?"

She should have guessed he'd know what this was about just from the tone of her voice. He knew her that well.

"Ghost..."

"_Come on! Anything new?"_

She hit a few keys on her laptop as she checked the inventory of her character. Right, she'd lost pretty much everything last time, she was left with a useless coin instead of the small sword she'd gotten used to. At least her partner had his powerful new blade, he'd have her back if they ran into enemies she couldn't defeat with her cool fighting skills.

"_Nym'?"_

"I'm here."

"_So?"_

She sighed. He wasn't going to let this go. Jon had loved their father as much as she had, and while she was the only one in the family foolish enough to think she could solve the case when the police seemed to have given up (her mother's words), it didn't mean the others weren't rooting for her.

"I got a few new leads. Remember that guy I was telling you about?"

Maybe they were paranoid, but they tried not to use names when they talked about this. Clues tended to disappear in this case, it was why Yoren was working with her. He couldn't do it all on his own, and he didn't trust the system.

"_Yeah?"_

"He found out what dad had been up to in the weeks before he died."

"_What do you mean?"_

His confusion was understandable. Until this morning, she'd had no reason to believe her dad had been doing anything suspicious in the weeks before he'd gotten shot. Now, she wasn't so sure.

"I mean he visited a few places he had no business visiting and met with strange people."

"_How come you're only hearing about this now?"_

"I don't know."

"_You're going to go to those places, aren't you?" _When she didn't answer, he sighed._ "Just be careful, ok? I know you can take care of yourself, but I don't like the idea of you doing this stuff alone."_

"I won't be alone."

"_What?"_

She winced. Maybe she shouldn't have said that, but her mind had caught up with her mouth too late.

"There's this guy."

"_What guy?"_

"He's sort of... Well, it's a bit complicated, but he's going to shadow me for a while."

"_Ok..."_

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about me going off on my own."

"_No, apparently I need to worry about you trusting strangers."_

"Who says he's a stranger?"

"_Nym'..."_

Ok, so in the year she'd been living in California, she hadn't talked about anyone but Yoren.

"Look, I'll be alright. Don't worry about me. Can we play now?"

"_Fine."_

She smiled as their characters finally entered the game and she found herself forgetting everything else. Video games were one of her few vices, and this one in particular. Jon had heard about it a few weeks ago, it wasn't widely known yet, there were only a few hundred players all over the world, but she loved it. The quests were fun, the enemies were tough, and most of all, the graphic design was stunning. She could almost believe she was actually walking in this dark scary forest.

"_Do you see what I see?"_

"Yep. Let's go kill some bad guys."

* * *

She suppressed a smile at the growl she heard coming from the backseat, but the man sitting in the passenger seat didn't try to conceal his amusement.

"I stole her spot, didn't I?"

"Yep."

"She hates me now, doesn't she?"

"Yep."

"Should I be worried?"

"Yep."

In truth, he didn't need to worry. Nymeria wasn't happy with this new development, but if she'd been really angry, she would have let them know much more loudly. Apparently, he knew this, because he kept smiling.

"When we met, you thought I'd be scared of her."

"Most people are."

"She's the reason you agreed to help me."

She didn't let her surprise show. It wasn't even a question, it was as if he already knew the answer. Perceptive. She could have thrown him out of her office anytime when they'd met four days ago, or she could have turned down his offer that second time when he'd come to her place. Or she could have reconsidered and not have called him tonight. But there was something so weird about her dog's attitude toward him that she just couldn't ignore it. Nymeria tried to scare off every single person she met. She never actually attacked unless Arya was in danger, but she was always threatening. With Waters, she only displayed a small amount of suspicion, which was her way of saying "ok, he's cool".

"Her and 5000 dollars. What did you do to make her like you?"

He shrugged.

"Dogs are supposed to be good judges of character."

"She still threatens my _mother_."

"Does your mother deserve to be threatened?"

Arya considered this. It was true she was angry at her mother most of the time. She couldn't forgive her for the way she had driven Jon away. When her parents had first started dating, they'd broken up for a few weeks, and her father had found comfort in some girl's arms. He'd been back with her mother for three months when that girl had told him about the baby, and about the fact that she didn't want it. He had taken Jon in, but Catelyn Stark had never showed more than hatred and scorn for the kid. Arya loved her brother too much to overlook the way her mother had always treated him. Not to mention the fact that she kept trying to turn her into her big sister, which had always resulted in screaming matches between the three Stark women when they'd been forced to live under the same roof. Since she'd moved to California, her recurring headaches had miraculously vanished.

"Sometimes, she does," she admitted.

He nodded as if he'd expected that answer.

"So, this guy you're supposed to meet..."

"Jaqen."

"Right. You really think he can help you?"

"Yeah."

People just didn't think about how much bouncers heard or saw. She'd met Jaqen a few months ago while working on a case, and he'd been a great help. They hadn't kept in touch after that, but she had no doubt he would help her now if he could.

Just then, the back door opened and someone slipped inside the car. Then there was a growl and a quiet, "A girl brings a stranger?"

"Don't worry about him."

He eyed Waters suspiciously and she couldn't help but notice that he stayed as far away from Nymeria as he could.

"A man will trust a girl's judgment. What does a girl want to know?"

"Do you know anything about a guy who goes by Littlefinger?"

"A man does not have this honor. Does a girl know the real name?"

"No."

"A man will tell a girl if he finds anything."

And just like that he was gone. She ignored her companion's inquisitive look and started the car.

"That was weird."

"That was Jaqen," she replied as if that explained everything.

"What's next?"

She smiled.

"Running."

He lit up at that, and before she could tell him she'd drop him off wherever he wanted, he asked "Can I join you?"

Her surprise only lasted for a second before she raised her chin in challenge.

"Can you keep up?"

"Drive me home so I can get changed, and we'll find out."

* * *

There was little she loved more than running in the middle of the night. Even with the street lights, she could barely see where her feet landed, and it made her jogs a little more daring. Plus, the temperature was a tad cooler. Not to mention the streets were empty and she loved being alone with Nymeria when she ran. Granted, she wasn't alone right now, but given how silent he was, she might as well be. Either he liked the quiet as much as she did, or he'd realized that she didn't like talking during those moments. She'd set a good pace, and he'd fallen in next to her as easily as she'd thought he would. He obviously kept in shape, and she suspected he wouldn't have asked to come with her if he hadn't thought he could keep up.

After a little over half an hour, she took a right turn and headed towards the ocean. She smiled when Nymeria understood and began to run faster, eager to get to the water. She sped up as well, running as fast as she could until she reached the sand. She stopped long enough to take off her running shoes and her socks, keeping them in her hand as she hurried to the water. Her smile widened when the waves crashed around her bare legs, the water reaching almost to the hem of her shorts before it retreated. Nymeria was half running, half swimming a few feet away.

"She misses home. It's too hot for her here."

She turned her head in surprise. Lost in her moment of pure pleasure, she'd completely forgotten about her shadow. But she quickly recovered and nodded.

"I know."

She felt a bit guilty for putting Nymeria through this. The Californian weather was not ideal for dogs like her. She loved the cold and the snow even more than Arya did. But she needed to be here and, as selfish as it sounded, she needed Nymeria with her. She had left everything to come here, her home, her family, and the very few friends she'd had back home, but she just couldn't leave her dog behind. Besides, Nymeria would endure anything if it meant she was with her, she knew that, and it made her feel a little better.

"Why are you here?"

She tensed but didn't let it show.

"What do you mean?"

"You obviously miss Canada as much as she does."

It took a minute for her to realize how he knew she was Canadian. Her accent had always been very faint, and she'd lost it completely now that she lived here, she knew she could easily pass for an American. Then she remembered she'd been wearing her Canucks jersey when he'd come to her apartment. Slight giveaway.

"I do," she admitted. She didn't offer any explanation, and he didn't ask again, correctly assuming that if she'd wanted to talk about it, she would have done so on her own. "What about you? Have you always lived here?"

"Yes."

"And your mother?"

"As far as I know, she never set foot outside of this city."

It could make things easier, since it meant she had probably met his father here, Arya thought before she remembered that there were about half a million men in San Diego, and they couldn't be sure his father had even lived here.

She was about to ask more questions, forgetting that she was _not_ working on this case, but suddenly Nymeria came running to them and pounced on Waters, knocking him to the ground as the waves washed over him. As quickly as she'd appeared, she turned her back to them and began running back towards the road. Arya laughed as she held out her hand to help the sputtering man up.

"She's _very_ possessive of her spot."

* * *

Since she had accepted his offer of water, she went up with him to his apartment. He took two small bottles out of the fridge and handed one to her before disappearing into what she assumed was the bedroom. He came out a couple of minutes later wearing dry clothes since their run back hadn't been long enough for the ones he'd been wearing to dry. Since she was only staying for a few minutes, she had offered to leave Nymeria in her car so that she wouldn't get water all over his place, but he'd said he didn't mind.

"Don't," she ordered firmly when she noticed her dog was eyeing the red couch.

Nymeria sat down where she was on the floor, which was better than her ruining the furniture.

"So you do have some kind of authority over her. I was beginning to doubt it," he teased.

She had way more authority over her dog than people gave her credit for, and she was perfectly fine with letting them think that she didn't really control her. Just because she didn't always express her orders out loud didn't mean that Nymeria didn't obey. Quite the contrary. Most of the time, she reacted to Arya's moods and whatever she did, she did because she thought it was what Arya wanted her to do. But it was better if people didn't know that.

"Every once in a while, she feels like listening."

She ignored his knowing smirk because something had caught her attention. There were three huge bookcases against the wall behind the couch, except instead of books, they were full of CDs. Video games. Some she had played, a few she hadn't liked, and most she'd never even heard of.

"Wow. You must have every video game ever invented here."

"And some not exactly invented yet."

She frowned, having no idea what he meant, until she noticed a few boxes with no cover, just a white piece of paper with a name scribbled on it.

"Demos. Ooh, I have to borrow some of those."

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, I would get sued."

"And for another?"

"Those aren't finished yet."

"Yeah, that's sort of the principle of demos," she reminded him.

Did he think she was stupid?

"No, I mean they're not real demos. I only have the scripts and characters descriptions."

"What?"

"Seriously, you didn't even Google me?"

The question could have sounded arrogant. It didn't, for one very good reason: he was right. She usually ran a background check on her clients, and it went much deeper than Google. She hadn't done it with him because he wasn't technically a client, and he'd already paid. Not to mention how busy she'd been with her father's case.

He walked past her to open a door and ushered her into a small room. She blinked a few times when he turned the very bright lights on. Then she understood.

There was a desk with a computer and drawing equipment against the wall opposite the door, and behind it, dozens of sheets of paper almost black with writing were pinned to the wall. The other two walls were covered in sketches: characters, landscapes, buildings, weapons, animals... She didn't bother trying to keep the awe out of her voice.

"You're a concept artist."

And a good one, it seemed. Some of those drawings were gorgeous, she thought as she got closer to one of the walls to get a better look at a great lake surrounded by trees under a moonlit sky. If this was just a sketch, she would love to see what the actual design was going to look like. She glanced back at him. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, watching her as she admired his work.

"Anything I might have played?"

"I doubt it. I'm a freelancer, it's not like I've worked on World of Warcraft."

"You certainly could have."

He raised his eyebrows, clearly taken aback. Not that she could blame him. He'd already noticed that she had a tendency to blurt out whatever she thought and that insults and hard truths fell from her mouth freely. Compliments did too, it was just more unusual for her to think something nice.

"Thanks," he said uncertainly. "Most of these will never make it to the production process. Either the company's going to choose someone else's work, or the project will just be dropped for lack of funding."

"I didn't think concept artists still used pencils and paper."

"I like the way it feels, at least for a first try. I move on to the digital version once the client has approved the initial sketch."

"Are you working on anything interesting?"

"Depends on what you mean by interesting."

"Something I would lose sleep over."

He smiled and pointed to one of the drawings. It showed a cute woman in her early twenties wearing a heavy cape.

"There's a renewed interest in fairytales. This company's trying to take advantage of it by launching a whole series of young adults-oriented games. In their version, the wolf's a murderer and Little Red Riding Hood a huntress who tries to find him after he killed her father. The fun part is... What's wrong?"

She was surprised he'd picked up on her mood change, she was used to concealing her weaknesses. But this hit too close to home and her smile must have wavered, because he seemed a bit confused. She shook her head.

"Nothing. What about this one?" she asked, quickly pointing out another sketch.

She could tell he didn't believe her by the way his eyes narrowed slightly, but he let her get away with the lie and proceeded to tell her about another one of his projects.

She'd only come up for a quick sip of water since her apartment was a solid 30-minute drive away and she'd been very thirsty after her run, but she ended up staying a little over two hours, only remembering she needed to get home when the sun started to come up and Nymeria noisily expressed her hunger.

This wasn't good, she reflected as she made her way home. She'd have to be blind not to notice how good-looking Gendry was, but she could handle pure physical attraction, could ignore it without so much as a 'what if'. Problem was, she'd also noticed he was fun to be around, and she'd been completely mesmerized by his obvious passion for his work, by his deep, low voice as he'd explained some of the characters, and by how strong and skilled his hands had looked when he'd shown her how he got started on a sketch. If that wasn't bad enough, she also wanted to know more about him, because she was pretty sure she hadn't even scratched the surface yet. And this curiosity was really, really not good, especially after just a few days of knowing him. She couldn't afford to lose focus, not now that she had leads to follow, people to talk to and places to check out after a year of dead ends. No, now was definitely not the time to be distracted, no matter how much his eyes reminded her of home.

When she fell onto her bed at long last, her decision was made. She'd give him his money back, along with another PI's phone number after she'd called in a favor, and she'd forget about him.

* * *

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry there's not much going on in this chapter, the next one should be pretty much all Grendry/Arya fun. Thanks to everyone who read/alerted/followed/reviewed so far, I'm glad you seem to like what I'm trying to do with the characters, especially Gendry :)**

* * *

She had no reason to be nervous. She'd turned down clients before, she didn't see why this should be any different. She snorted at her own thoughts. She'd never tried to lie to herself in the past, and she wasn't going to start now. This was different because she'd already accepted the job. She wasn't in the habit of changing her mind at the drop of a hat, and she felt bad about walking out now. Still, it would be better this way, for both of them. She'd called one of the few reliable contacts she had and since he owed her big time, he'd agreed to take Gendry's case for 5000 dollars. He hadn't been happy about it, and she was now in his debt since according to him, the favor he owed her wasn't worth the 15000 missing bucks he'd have charged anyone else for such a complicated job, but he'd agreed, and that was what mattered.

Sighing, she knocked on the door and waited, hoping that Gendry was home. She hadn't bothered to check since having seen his equipment, she knew that he worked mostly from home, but now she remembered that when he'd sought her out the first time, he'd told her he only had thirty minutes for his lunch break. That must mean he occasionally worked in an office or something.

However, he opened the door after a few seconds and smiled as soon as he saw her, which made her feel even worse about what she was about to do. Deciding to just get it over with, she didn't give him a chance to talk, she just handed him the thick envelope she'd brought with her. He didn't take it right away and he stayed silent.

"Here's your money. I can't work with you, sorry. There's a number you should call in there, a friend of mine agreed to take your case for 5000 dollars." His eyebrows shot up and he still didn't take the envelope. Slightly unsettled, she added, "He's good, and he'll do a better job than I could have, I promise."

"You can't work with me," he repeated slowly, ignoring the part about someone helping him find his father.

The most important part, if you asked her. Irritated by this turn of event, she tapped her foot impatiently.

"No."

"Why?"

"Something came up."

"Something came up? Between this morning and now? Something so important that you'd turn down easy money?"

Her slight annoyance turned to exasperation at his skepticism. Ok, so he was right. It didn't mean she had to like it.

"Who said putting up with you was easy?" she snapped.

His confused frown turned into a smirk. She didn't like it one bit.

"Ah," he simply said.

"What?"

"You're angry because I did waste your time, even though I promised I wouldn't."

She carefully schooled her features into an expressionless mask. Damn him, he was good. Although maybe she shouldn't curse him: he could have said something worse, since he'd obviously understood. He could have pointed out that it was because putting up with him _was_ easy that she was trying to get rid of him. Instead he'd just alluded to those couple of hours she'd lost staying with him when she could have been doing something productive. The frontier was thin, but it was there.

Someone else might have tried to escape or lie, but it wasn't who she was. She firmly held his gaze and spoke the truth.

"I'm not angry. I just can't let it happen again."

"Fine. Don't let it. It doesn't mean we can't work together." When she just narrowed her eyes, he shrugged and added, "I don't believe for a second that you'd let yourself be distracted if you don't want to. I'm sure you can forget we'd make great friends and keep things professional."

A challenge if she'd ever heard one. Instead of calling him in on his obvious ploy to appeal to her competitive streak (which was working, but he didn't need to know that), she decided to ask a more important question.

"What's in it for you? I just told you that you could take your case to a guy who can solve it instead of just letting you follow him around."

"Yes, but if I do that, I'm guessing you'll owe him, which means I'll owe you. And I don't want to owe you, or anyone, anything."

The worst part was that she could understand that. If they went on with their first agreement, it would be just that: an agreement. A simple business transaction. If he took her offer, it'd turn into a favor. As an orphan he'd probably learned very early in life that the only one he could depend on was himself, and while she came from a rather large family, she was used to doing things herself whenever possible so that she wouldn't be in anyone's debt. For one thing, it made things easier. For another, it was a matter of pride. In that instant, she could relate to him, and that was just as bad as her previous curiosity.

Groaning in frustration, she finally let her hand fall to her side, her fingers gripping the envelope so hard her knuckles turned white.

"You're insufferable."

"Is this you agreeing?"

Nymeria would have been proud of the low, menacing growl that escaped from her throat.

"Yes. But I have a few conditions."

"I'm listening."

"My place is off limits. So is yours. We meet in my office or in my car."

"Sounds naughty."

If looks could kill... He raised his hands in surrender and was smart enough to stop grinning.

"No questions about the case I'm working on."

"What else?"

"That's all for now."

She held her hand out to him, but he didn't shake it.

"I have a condition of my own."

She hadn't expected that.

"What is it?"

"Don't change your mind again."

She flinched. She had no intention of changing her mind again, not if he heeded her conditions, and he was well within his rights with this demand, but the reminder that she'd tried to turn her back on him when they'd had an agreement stung.

"I won't."

He nodded as if he was willing to trust her on this and shook her hand.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?"

And just like that, it was like nothing had happened.

* * *

"What is this place?"

She gave him a mocking smile.

"If you need to ask..."

"Let me rephrase that. What are we doing here?"

She killed the engine and checked the address on her notepad. Yep, this was the place. With a name like Summer Girls, she had expected this... But it didn't mean that she had any idea why her father had come here a few weeks before his death. She stole a sideways glance at the man sitting next to her. She supposed there were a few things she could tell him about her investigation, things that didn't run too deep, didn't hurt too much and weren't too personal. Ok, so not too many things.

"I'm trying to retrace some guy's footsteps. Where he went, who he talked to, what he did... One of my contacts gave me a list of things I should check out, so that's what I'm doing." She could see he wanted to ask her why, but he kept his mouth shut, for which she was grateful. "This Littlefinger I asked Jaqen about, he seems to be in the middle of this, except no one knows who he is. So until I know more about him, I have to follow other leads."

He nodded wordlessly, making good on his promise not to ask questions. As they got out of the car, she wondered if this was a good idea. Maybe they should have come a bit later. She'd chosen the middle of the afternoon because there wouldn't be too many customers and it would make asking questions easier since the staff wouldn't be too busy, but it could also mean that the manager wouldn't be here yet.

Pushing the door open, she raised her eyebrows in surprise as she took in her new environment. She'd expected something sleazy, smelly and a bit disgusting, but in all honesty, it was more upscale than most of the pubs she'd visited in Vancouver. Of course, it could be because every time she'd gone out with her two older brothers back in Canada, they'd had to choose places that weren't too strict about age control.

The bouncer was standing in front of her before she could even locate the bar.

"ID."

She handed him the one Yoren had given her. He examined it and looked at her suspiciously. She was used to it, she looked younger than she actually was, so it was hard for her to pass for someone older. Still, the fake ID was a very convincing one, having been provided by a cop and all, so the big guy didn't comment. When he left, Gendry was smiling beside her.

"Where did you get that?"

"I have friends."

He was more of a reluctant associate most of the time, but he got the job done. Arya ignored the two half naked women dancing around poles in front of four lonely customers and went straight to the bar, glad the music wasn't playing too loud.

"Two beers, please."

The beautiful thirty-something red-head smiled at Gendry while taking two glasses down, and Arya shook her head in amusement when the woman's top 'accidentally' slid down two inches. She coughed to bring the bartender's attention back to her and handed her a bill. The red-head's eyes widened at the sight of Benjamin Franklin.

"I don't think I have..."

"Tell me where the manager is, and you can keep the change."

"With pleasure." She swiftly took the bill and hid it inside her top before pushing their now full glasses toward them. "How can I help you?"

Arya smiled and read the name on her badge.

"Ros... You're the manager?"

A curt nod. Arya took a photo out of her handbag, trying not to look at it in the hope that she wouldn't feel this painful pang that always made her so sad when she saw her father's face or remembered the sound of his voice, and she showed it to Ros.

"Do you recognize this man?"

"Looks familiar, yeah," she answered with a pointed look at Arya's right hand, the one still holding her wallet. Another hundred dollars bill disappeared in the low-cut black top. "He came here about a year ago, maybe a year and a half. Wanted to talk to one of the girls."

"Which one?"

"She'll be here tonight if you want to talk to her."

"For free?" Arya asked with a small smile.

The answering wink made her smile widen. She liked this game, and she was good at it. As was Ros, it seemed.

"Depends on the mood I'll be in."

"I'll see you tonight, then," she said before downing most of her beer in a few large gulps.

Turning to her companion, she noticed that he was watching a basketball game on one of the screens and she laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're not even ogling the girls? Come on, even I can't ignore them!"

It was true. The small individual stages were strategically scattered around the room in a way that made it impossible not to see the dancers, even when there were just two of them. He indicated one of the two girls with a vague wave of his hand, still not turning away from the TV.

"She's not my type."

"And the other one?"

"Bruises."

She frowned, not getting his meaning, but then the girl in question rotated around the pole, exposing her back, and Arya understood. The back of her legs was covered in bruises, and there was a scar that looked suspiciously like a belt mark on her lower back. She shuddered. Maybe not so upscale after all. She supposed if she were a man, she'd feel more pity than lust too. Although it clearly wasn't that much of a turnoff for the other customers.

"Let's get out of here."

They both finished their drinks, but before they left, Arya turned back to Ros on a hunch, thinking it was worth a shot.

"Does the name Littlefinger ring a bell?"

"No, sorry."

It looked like Gendry was going to intervene, so Arya grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. He waited until they were back in the car to protest.

"She lied."

"I know."

"Why didn't you..."

"I need to stay on her good side for a little longer. I'll ask again after I've talked to her girl."

"Smart." She shot him a look that clearly told him what she thought of his comment. _No need to sound so surprised._ "So we're coming back tonight."

"Yeah."

"And until then?"

"I'm driving you home. I'll come get you tonight."

This was a test, and he was clearly aware of it, because he didn't say anything. If he'd asked what she was going to do in the meantime or if he could come with her, she'd have had doubts about his ability to keep his end of the bargain. But he was apparently determined to make this work. It seemed finding his father, or more precisely his siblings, mattered more to him than he let on, if he was willing to keep his curiosity in check and meet her demands.

* * *

Her body was one big ache, and she didn't want to think about how sore her muscles were going to be tomorrow, but she felt amazing. Her sessions with Syrio always left her physically exhausted but emotionally rested, an added bonus to the fact that it kept her in shape and ready for whatever dangers her job could throw her way.

She still had an hour to kill before it was time to go to the strip club, so she settled on her couch and opened the folder Yoren had given her. She knew it almost by heart by now, but she had yet to prioritize her next moves, now was as good a time as any to start planning the next few days. She placed the file on the table in front of her and took out her notepad and a pen, rummaging through the papers while taking notes, one leg under her, Nymeria's head resting on the other.

She didn't know how Yoren had managed to gather so much information. Until he'd given this to her, she'd had no idea what her dad had been up to in San Diego. She'd only known the basics. An old friend of his had needed his help, and being who he was, Eddard Stark had rushed to his side. Her and her siblings had wanted to come with him, but as they insisted one last time while he climbed into the taxi that would lead him to the airport, he'd said it would only be a matter of months, it wouldn't be worth putting their lives on hold and he'd be back before they knew it.

That had been the last time she'd seen her father.

Finding out who this friend in need was hadn't been too hard, it was the first thing Yoren had been able to tell her. Robert Baratheon was well known in the state, he was the head of a big IT company based in San Diego, and he'd expressed some political ambitions in the last couple of years. She'd spent the better part of a year digging up everything there was to dig up about him and his family, but she hadn't come up with much.

They had yet to figure out what he'd needed Ned's help for.

She really had no idea. Robert Baratheon could probably afford to buy half the state and the people who lived in it, so why had he turned to a man he hadn't seen in nearly a decade?

While the Starks weren't as rich as the Baratheons, they were far from being poor. Her grand-father had been one of the first people to see the opportunity in clean energy, and the company he'd built from scratch some fifty years ago was one of the most prosperous in Vancouver. It should have made things easier for her, but while she had not gone as far as disowning her, her mother had made it very clear that if she wanted to waste her time and risk her life in California, she wasn't to expect any support from her. Catelyn Stark had ended the conversation with a big dramatic "I'm not going to help you get yourself killed" and Arya had just smirked. She'd expected nothing less, this wasn't going to stop her. She'd emptied her bank account, all 3 000 Canadian dollars of it, and that had been enough to buy her ticket to San Diego and rent an office space for two weeks. She'd slept in her office for a few days before landing her first client and finding something a little more permanent, since by then she'd realized her investigation was going to take months, if not longer.

Her cell rang, dragging her out of her memories. She smiled when she saw the caller ID and didn't bother with a polite greeting.

"It's 4 a.m. in England. Even for you, that's early."

A laugh. Her lips twitched up in a small, unsure smile. Jon sounded relaxed, which was unusual enough for her to put down her pen and focus entirely on the conversation.

"_I'm just coming home from a night out."_

Now this was a shock. He had always been the responsible one. Way too responsible, in her humble opinion. She couldn't remember the last time he'd really let himself go and have fun. He usually got up at dawn to study before going to class and went straight to his room in the evenings to study some more. She knew a MBA required a lot of work, but still. The only down times he kept for himself were their little game-playing sessions. Maybe she shouldn't be so hard on her brother about his workaholic's habits, she was just like him after all. Once she set her mind on something, she pursued her goal with a single-mindedness that bordered on clinical obsession. Hadn't she just pushed Gendry away because she suspected he might, however unwittingly, distract her from her goal?

Her smile widened as she came to the realization and she took a guess.

"What's her name?"

"_Shut up."_

She chuckled. Good guess.

"Come on, I need to know what to call my future sister-in-law."

"_Whoa, slow down, I just met her."_

"And you're already breaking your rules for her. Sounds serious to me."

There was a pause on the other end of the line that let her know he wasn't kidding anymore.

"_Ygritte. I like her."_

Her smile turned softer, but she was Arya and not Sansa, so instead of going all mushy on him, she decided to tease him.

"Don't screw it up."

Another laugh.

"_I'll do my best. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. We haven't had a chance to talk since..."_

Since she'd told him about her new leads. She sighed.

"I'm ok, I promise." And because she couldn't _not_ be honest with him, she added, "I can't promise I'm safe, but I'm ok."

"_I guess that's the best I can hope for. You'll tell me if you find anything?"_

"You know I will."

"_And you'll check in with me regularly?"_

"Jon..."

"_Please, Arya. I know you're tough, and I know you have Nymeria and Syrio's lessons, but I... I have a bad feeling about this. I know there's nothing I can say to make you back down, so I won't even try. Just promise me you'll call every other day."_

She frowned. It wasn't like Jon to be so eloquent. She was used to the worry and protectiveness, but this kind of heartfelt speeches was new.

"Maybe I'm the one who should ask if you're ok."

"_Yeah, it's just..."_

His voice trailed off as if he was struggling with whether or not he wanted to say what was on his mind, and that made her angry. They'd never kept anything from each other.

"Say it."

"_I can't, alright?"_

Hell no, it wasn't alright. It was about as far from alright as it could get. Not for the first time, she cursed the distance between them. It wasn't like she could hit him through the phone, and knocking some sense into him was easier when she was able to wrestle with him.

"What's wrong, Jon?"

"_I have to go. Just be careful, and call me, even if you're angry with me right now."_

He hung up. She glared at her phone for a minute, still too irritated and bewildered to fully comprehend what had just happened. She didn't try to call him back, she knew it would be no use. No matter how angry she was, she _would_ keep him posted, she just wished he'd given some kind of explanation for his weird warning.

"What do you think, Nymeria?"

The dog shook her head in consternation and Arya nodded solemnly.

"Yep, he's nuts."

* * *

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait guys, I've been busy driving around Australia and this country's huge :D. I'm also sorry I couldn't reply to the reviews, but be assured I read and appreciate every single one!**

**Hope you like this chapter**

* * *

Ros must have been in a good mood, because as soon as she saw them, she indicated one of the dancers.

"Megan's break is in 15 minutes, you can talk to her then."

"Thanks."

"Can I get you anything luv'?" she asked, turning her attention to Gendry.

He shook his head and turned his back to her to start watching the screens. As soon as Ros turned away from them, Arya punched his shoulder.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"That was rude."

"Are _you_ giving _me_ lessons in manners?" he asked, pointedly rubbing his shoulder.

"Shut up, stupid! You know I need her on my side. If she's busy checking you out, she'll be distracted and she might give me some information without even realizing it. If she's busy ignoring you because you were rude to her, I won't get anything out of her."

"You want to use my body to get information? That's just gross."

"Oh, please, I've done much worse to..."

She stopped talking just in time.

"Really?" he smirked.

Or not.

She rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

"What about your work? How are you going to get enough free time to follow me around for God knows how long?"

"I'll manage," was all he said, and she left it at that. It wasn't any of her business anyway. She had more important things to worry about. "So, how often do your cases bring you to strip clubs?"

"Considering a career change?"

He laughed.

"Definitely not."

"Most of the cases aren't that interesting. Six nights out of seven, I'm just sitting in my car waiting for the money shot."

"Money shot?"

"Yeah, you know, the picture that'll get me paid. My clients are usually people trying to prove their spouse is cheating on them. I know every seedy motel in this city better than their owners do."

"Sounds fun."

"Boring's more like it."

"Then why do you keep..."

Her warning look informed him that he was about to cross the line between professional interest and personal curiosity and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Looks like Megan's taking her break. Come on."

He followed her as she walked up to the stripper and extended a friendly hand. Before shaking it, Megan glanced at the bar.

"Private dances have to be arranged with Ros."

"That's not what this is about. Is there somewhere we could talk?"

There was a second's hesitation, but then the blond woman nodded and motioned for them to follow her. She opened a door and climbed some stairs, leading them to an empty room upstairs. Another part of the strip club, no doubt, but for now it was empty and dark. Weekdays weren't the busiest. She flipped on a switch and both Gendry and Arya blinked at the sudden light. Then Arya took the usual picture out of her bag.

"Do you know this man?"

The dancer looked instantly panicked.

"Who are you?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Ros told us he came to see you about a year and a half ago."

"19 months."

Arya raised her eyebrows at her precision.

"My daughter was two months old when he came."

"Your daughter?" She just nodded, so Arya pushed, her voice gentle, "And?"

"He asked about her."

"This man? He asked about your daughter? Why?"

The woman shrugged, throwing worried looks around, obviously trying to find a way out. But Gendry was unknowingly blocking the path to the door, and while Arya knew that he would step away and let Megan leave if she decided to walk past him, his tall frame was intimidating enough that she didn't even try.

"I don't know. He asked me about her father, he wanted to know if she was healthy, if I needed anything to provide for her..."

Arya bit down on her lower lip. This didn't make any sense. Her father had come all the way from Canada to ask a stripper about her infant?

"What did you tell him?"

"There's not much to tell. He was worried my lifestyle might be bad for Barra, he made me promise to call him if there was the slightest problem, and he left."

"What about the father?"

"Just a client I met three years ago. We had a thing, broke up after a few months. Never told him about the kid."

She pondered her next move. This was all very interesting, but it didn't explain why Megan had looked so worried when she'd seen the picture of her father, or why she was still fidgeting nervously. Deciding bluntness was probably her best course of action, Arya made her voice firm.

"The truth, now. Why are you scared?"

"I'm not..."

"I said, the truth. Why did you look like you wanted to run away when you saw the picture?"

"The guy got killed. I don't like pictures of dead guys."

She didn't need to look at Gendry to see his reaction, his whole body was practically shaking with barely restrained tension. She winced. She'd known he would find out her case was a murder case eventually, but she'd hoped it would be later rather than sooner. If she'd had any hope of keeping his questions at bay until now, it had just flown out the window. She could almost hear his voice in her head. _Why are you investigating a murder? Isn't this the police's job?_ Sighing, she came back to the matter at hand. She might not know much about Gendry, but amazingly enough, she trusted him to wait until they were alone before he unleashed the flow of questions she could feel flooding his mind.

"Who's the father?"

"No one that matters."

She didn't believe that for a second. A suspicion began to form in her mind.

"Is it Littlefinger?"

There was no mistaking the fear in the woman's eyes.

"No! God, no!"

Either this was a lie, or the man frightened her for another reason. Arya let out another sigh. She wouldn't get anything else out of her. She tried asking a few more questions, but it soon became clear that Megan was too scared to tell them anything useful. Arya gave her her phone number and left with Gendry. She briefly considered going to Ros to ask her more questions about the mystery man, but she was nowhere to be found, and Arya suspected it wasn't a coincidence.

Once they were both sitting in her car, she didn't start the engine right away. She turned to Gendry, who was staring at some invisible point in front of him, determinedly not meeting her eyes.

"Go ahead."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know."

"No, I don't."

"Ask your questions."

"What have you planned for tomorrow?"

For a second, she thought he was really that dumb, but then she noticed the smirk he was fighting hard to keep in check, and when he finally looked at her, she could see the twinkle in his eyes. She narrowed her eyes.

"You're really not gonna ask?"

He turned more serious.

"No."

It seemed she had underestimated his stubbornness. Or his honesty. Or both. The sudden wave of affection and gratitude came as a complete shock, so much so that she almost choked on it. She'd been preparing for a fight or for a painful confession, she wasn't sure which, and here he was, keeping true to his word when she'd practically ordered him to break his promise, allowing her to keep her secrets even though he was probably dying to know more. Her surprise must have shown, because something softened in his expression and he sighed.

"We have a deal, Arya. I might not be happy about it right now, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, I'm not going to betray your trust."

Trust was such a strong word. And yet... she was coming to realize he _was_ trustworthy. All day, she'd done nothing but test his limits, more or less consciously, and he'd passed every single one of these tests without so much as a complaint, when he'd obviously known what she was doing. If anyone had treated her the way she'd been treating him, it would have turned into a screaming match. Or worse. The apology was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, so she settled for a silent promise and a soft "Thank you."

He offered her a small smile.

"You still haven't told me what we're doing tomorrow."

Back to business it was.

"More places to visit. And Jaqen wants to see me."

"Is it about Littlefinger?"

"I hope so."

"Do you want to meet him alone?"

The offer surprised her.

"Why would I want that?"

"Well, because he's interested in you," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She gaped at him. He lifted an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I haven't noticed because there's nothing to notice."

"Right."

"There isn't!"

"Come on Arya, the guy's weird, but there's no mistaking that look."

"What look?"

"You're hopeless."

"Hey!"

He laughed.

"Really, you are. Now drive me home. I need to get some sleep before my bossy partner wakes me up tomorrow."

* * *

She ordered a black coffee in an attempt to forget she'd only slept for a little over four hours. Once the waiter had left, Gendry bent down to pet Nymeria's head, the dog giving a quick bark of approval and sitting down next to his chair, which brought a smile to Arya's lips.

"You never told me her name."

"Nymeria."

Arya chuckled when his next question was cut off by a yawn.

"Why did we have to come so early?"

"You know, this guy I'm investigating?"

"The dead guy."

She nodded and swallowed over the lump in her throat.

"I have his credit card receipts from a few weeks before he died. He came here every day for a week, always at the same time."

"Are you going to show his picture around?"

"Not yet."

She had a feeling her father hadn't come here to talk to someone, but rather to observe something. He wouldn't have needed to come back seven days in a row, always around 7.30 in the morning, if he'd just wanted to have a chat with someone who worked here.

"How long do you think we need to stay?"

Good question. One she couldn't answer. Since she had no idea what they were waiting for, they could be here all day for all she knew.

"We're probably going to have lunch here."

"A while, then."

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason."

"Do you have somewhere to be?"

"Nope. I'm all yours."

An interesting thought. She shook her head and smiled as Nymeria barked again, this time in protest, and Gendry resumed the stroke he'd interrupted for a minute.

"She's as bossy as you are."

"Only because she likes you."

She didn't realize what she'd said until she saw his raised eyebrows and teasing smile. She gave him a warning look, and he wisely decided not to comment on her involuntary admission, but maybe that would have been better. Because instead his voice turned soft.

"Must be exhausting keeping people at arm's length at all times."

She wasn't sure what to make of this. When their eyes met, his gaze was expectant rather than downright pushy, so she answered honestly.

"Not really. It usually doesn't take more than a glare, and I never feel like I'm missing out. You're just more stubborn than most people."

He chuckled.

"Not the first time I've heard that. The kids in school used to call me the Bull."

"Imagine that."

"I know, right?"

"It must have been hard." He looked surprised at the hint of compassion in her voice and she felt the need to add, "After your mother died, I mean."

"It wasn't fun," he eluded, and she had to smile, however sadly, at the understatement.

She knew what it felt like to lose a parent, but at least her father had been there throughout her childhood, and she still had her brothers, and even her sister and her mother, even if they weren't that close. She wondered if this was what his quest was about. Was he looking for a sense of family? It didn't seem to fit with what she'd seen of his personality, he seemed perfectly content with being on his own, and he certainly wasn't the type to feel sorry for himself, especially not over something that had happened so long ago. Suddenly, the question just had to be asked.

"Why do you want to find your siblings?"

His hand left Nymeria's fur as the waiter placed their order in front of them, and this time she didn't protest, she just lay down at their feet. Once the man was out of earshot, Gendry took a sip of his coffee and seemed to think for a moment.

"You remember what my mother said about my father in her letter?"

"Which part?"

"The part about me being better off without him."

"What about it?"

"She was right. I am."

She frowned. She didn't see how this was supposed to answer her question. Sure, he didn't _have_ to answer, but he was apparently trying to. She just wasn't getting it.

"So?"

He shrugged and looked away, deep in thoughts. When he turned his attention back to her, he looked more serious than she'd thought she would ever see him.

"What if they're not?"

And suddenly his motivations became crystal clear.

He wasn't trying to find them for himself. He wanted to make sure they were ok.

She was speechless for a while. This was the most selfless thing she had ever heard. And she'd grown up in a family where selflessness was pretty much the norm. She kept her eyes on him as he let his gaze wander around them, taking in the early morning crowd. There was no mistaking the determined set of his jaw, the firm grip of his fingers around his steaming cup, the unwavering faith in his clear blue eyes. He was going to do whatever it took to find them and ensure they were safe and happy. All at once, the attraction, interest and burgeoning affection mingled with new-found respect and she bit back a groan.

_Damn it._

She was screwed, wasn't she?

* * *

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: there's not much happening here, it's more of a filler chapter. The next one is almost done and it's my favorite so far, I'll try to post it over the weekend. **

**I'm glad you all seem to like that I made Gendry a concept artist. I have nothing against him being a mechanic, but it's been done in so many stories that I really don't know how I could have written anything new, plus it wouldn't have been half as good as Cat of el Cajon anyway, so I decided to try something else… And there are a few reasons why I chose this job in particular, but I'm not telling :)**

**Again, sorry I couldn't reply to all the reviews, I'll try to get around to it eventually. Thank you so much to everyone who's still reading this :D**

* * *

The café had been a waste of time, and Arya was in a foul mood. Granted, there were worse things than being stuck for hours on end with Gendry drinking good coffee, and she usually had unlimited amounts of patience where her job was concerned, but not knowing what they were waiting for, the exercise had seemed futile. It didn't mean she wouldn't try again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, until she finally understood what had fascinated his father enough that he'd come so many times. She had ended up showing his picture to members of the staff, but none of them had remembered him. Disappointing, but expected. Up until now, the people she'd interrogated had talked to Ned Stark about things that had made an impression. He'd probably bribed Ros quite generously, and he'd wanted to know about Megan's baby, two things you didn't forget easily. But if he'd just come to this place to observe whatever it was he'd felt the need to observe and hadn't exchanged more than pleasantries with the waiters, it was only logical that they didn't remember him after over a year.

She'd already tried checking the area for video cameras, hoping she could hack into the network and see for herself what her father had been up to, but the only ones around were a traffic camera that didn't point to the café, and a surveillance one from the bank across the street. She'd been hopeful about this one, until she'd discovered the bank didn't keep the archives for more than six months. A dead-end.

As she parked her car near their next destination, she regained control over her frustration by taking a few deep breaths and she made a conscious effort to relax her fingers that were gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles had turned white.

"Are you ok?"

She turned to look at Gendry, who was watching her with obvious concern. She gave him a small unconvincing smile and a nod. It was the best she could do at the moment. As they got out of the car and she opened the back door to let Nymeria out, she took in the imposing white and red building in front of them. San Diego City Hall. Finding out why her father had come here might prove even harder than the café mystery. It was huge, and she had no idea how many people worked here but she guessed it was more than she could talk to in just one afternoon.

She pushed the door open, but she only set one foot inside before a guard walked up to them.

"No dogs allowed."

"But..."

"No dogs allowed."

She glared at him, but the man didn't even flinch. _Damn it_. She really wanted to do this today, but she didn't want to leave Nymeria locked in her car when she didn't know how long it was going to take, not in this heat. And she couldn't very well leave her out in the street either. She wasn't worried someone might steal her, her dog wouldn't let that happen, but she _was_ worried about what would happen if a cop saw such a dangerous looking dog outside without a master and tried to take her. Nymeria would probably rip his throat open before he could call animal control. Bringing her back to her apartment would mean losing forty minutes at least. Arya had just resigned herself to that last solution when Gendry unexpectedly spoke up.

"I'll stay with her."

"What?"

"We'll wait for you here."

"I..." Her voice trailed off as he looked at her. She tried again. "It could take hours."

He shrugged. She hesitated. His offer was the perfect solution to her problem, but she didn't want to ask this of him. He could be stuck here until closing time, and he'd already spent half the day doing nothing interesting because of her. Not to mention she wasn't used to trusting just anyone with her dog.

"Afraid she'll like me even more if I spend some time with her?"

That made her laugh and she shook her head as an idea took form in her mind. Taking her keys out of her pocket, she handed them to him. He took them, the question clear in his eyes.

"Would you mind driving her to my place? That way you can come back here afterwards."

"I thought your place was off limits?"

"Shut up."

She ignored his smirk and crouched down in front of her dog.

"Nymeria, go with him."

Her ears went backwards and she let out a small whimper, expressing her unhappiness at the idea of leaving without her. Arya gave her a firm disapproving look and made her voice harder.

"Nymeria..."

There was something resembling a sigh, then the dog looked expectantly at Gendry, who smiled and walked back to the car. Nymeria followed him after one last look at Arya.

She had no idea where to begin, so she just went to the first employee she saw and showed her the picture of her father. She'd repeated the action about forty times by the time Gendry joined her and assured her that Nymeria was safe in her apartment.

"Any luck?"

"None. And that guard's starting to look at me like he wants to throw me out."

She put the photo back in her purse and sat down on the stairs, throwing a murderous look at a woman who growled at her for talking too loud. Gendry sat next to her. They didn't say anything for a while. His voice was soft and comforting when he spoke at last.

"I have no idea why this is so important to you, but you should stop doubting yourself. One unsuccessful day doesn't mean you'll fail." She looked at him in surprise, wondering how he'd known what she'd been thinking. Before she could say anything, he added, "Besides, the day's not over yet, maybe Jaqen will give you something useful."

She acknowledged that with a small nod. He was right. She'd always known the road was going to be long and difficult, even if she'd dared hope again thanks to Yoren's file, and she shouldn't let herself be discouraged because things weren't going her way today. She nudged his shoulder.

"Thanks for this. And for Nymeria."

"You're welcome."

"Did she give you a hard time?"

"She didn't look happy, but no."

She nodded and stood up.

"Come on, as long as we're here, we should at least visit. This city hall's gorgeous."

"And you hope that something will stand out," he added knowingly, standing up as well.

"That too."

Nothing did. They spent hours wandering aimlessly around, until they were forced to leave. They still had four hours to kill before they were to meet with Jaqen, so they decided to grab something to eat. They bought sandwiches and went to the beach. Arya took advantage of one of her rare moments of peace to snap a few pictures. She'd almost forgotten how much she loved photography when she wasn't just trying to bust a cheating husband, and the surfers made for interesting subjects in the fading light. When she came back by his side, Gendry motioned to the ocean and asked her if she surfed. She looked at him like he was crazy.

"I'm from Canada."

He laughed.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Do you?"

"I'm from California."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I assume you ski."

"I'm from Canada," she repeated with a smile.

Another laugh, and she felt herself relax for the first time in ages as they kept talking. It occurred to her that they were already breaking the rule she'd established and blurring the line, but she couldn't bring herself to care. There wasn't much else she could do at the moment, so she decided it was ok. After a while, she lay down in the sand and closed her eyes. Feeling herself drifting off, she muttered "Wake me up in an hour", and she fell asleep.

When a hand gently shook her shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked around. The night was now pitch black and there were only a few people left on the beach.

"What time is it?"

"10.30. Come on, we don't want to keep your suitor waiting."

She punched his arm and they left.

She parked her car in her usual spot, the one where Jaqen had told her to meet him the first time he'd helped her. She'd realized after a while that it was one of the few spots in the city where there were no cameras of any kind. She didn't know if he was paranoid or just cautious, but she did know that if she wanted to keep getting information, she had to play by his rules, so she never questioned him.

They'd only been here for a few minutes when the back door opened and her informant climbed in.

"No monster tonight. Good."

"Nymeria's not a monster."

"And yet a girl knew what a man was talking about."

Gendry chuckled at that and she growled, looking at Jaqen's reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Does a man have something useful to give a girl?"

"A name. Petyr Baelish. And a piece of advice. Stay away from him."

"Thanks."

A couple of seconds later, she was alone with Gendry again.

"You're not going to listen to him, are you?"

"No."

She drove him home. He already had one foot outside of the car when she offered, "You know, you can sit the café thing out if you want. It's probably not going to be much more exciting tomorrow anyway. I have to cover all my bases, but you don't need to waste your time with something that's not going to help you."

He gave her a sideways look and shrugged.

"I don't mind."

"I'll pick you up at 7 then."

He nodded and got out of the car. She watched him until he disappeared in the building, then she took her cell phone out. She paused for a second, wondering if the decision she'd taken today was wise, but then she snorted at her own thoughts. She didn't have the time or the energy for it, it was anything but wise, she knew that, but it wouldn't prevent her from sticking to it. Jon answered after just one ring.

"_Hey, sis'! I don't have much time."_

"I won't be long. Listen, I won't be able to play tomorrow. Or for the next few weeks."

Her times with Jon were the only indulgence she'd promised herself she would keep in her life, because she knew she needed something to lose herself into for a few hours every once in a while if she didn't want to go crazy. But today, things had changed.

"_Is this about dad?"_

She could almost hear his frown. She hesitated for a second, but she just couldn't lie to him. And frankly, she didn't see the point.

"No. There's another case I want to focus on."

"_I thought you weren't going to take any more cases for now."_

"I thought so too."

"_Is the client filthy rich?"_

"Not exactly."

"_What is this about then?"_

His voice was more curious than reproachful. She sighed.

"I'm just trying to help a friend out."

"_What's his name?"_

She could tell he hadn't even tried to keep the smile out of his voice. She rolled her eyes. She would've hung up just to avoid further teasing, but then he'd told her about Ygritte, she could tease right back if he got too insistent.

"Gendry."

"_Another potentially dangerous case?"_

"No."

"_That'll be a nice change."_

She chuckled.

"True. Look, I have to go, and so do you."

"_Try not to get into too much trouble."_

He hung up before she had a chance to reply and she shook her head. Her brother's warnings were getting tiresome.

She would have loved nothing more than to get a good night's sleep, her quick nap on the beach having barely made a dent in her exhaustion, but when she got home, she turned on her laptop and logged into the County Department of Health website. Since she knew his approximate birth date and his last name and Gendry was not such a common first name, it only took a few minutes before she managed to access his birth certificate. The unknown father part came as no surprise. What she was more interested in was what she could find out about his mother. She smiled as she found what she'd been looking for. A social security number. In a few days, she'd know everything there was to know about Johanna Waters. She wasn't naive enough to think figuring out who she'd slept with in October 1986 would be that easy, but tracking down her old friends might not prove so difficult, and maybe one of them could tell her what she needed to know. It was a long shot, but it was all she had for now.

* * *

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

* * *

The last five days had been fruitless, and she was finally allowing herself some down time with Jon. This past week, she'd spent all her mornings drinking coffee and then having lunch with Gendry at that damn café, all her afternoons visiting places that had told her nothing, and all her evenings and part of her nights tracking down Johanna Waters' acquaintances. She was running on too little sleep and too much caffeine, not to mention a great deal of irritation. At least her research about Gendry's mother hadn't been too useless. She'd managed to locate two of her ex-coworkers who still lived in the area. Now all she had to do was meet with them. Her father's case was much less encouraging. No one she'd talked to had remembered him, and none of the places he'd been to in the weeks before his death had seemed significant. After failing to gather information herself, she'd sent a message to Yoren, telling him Littlefinger's real name was Petyr Baelish and asking him if he knew anything about the man. The cop hadn't answered yet.

Her brother had been surprised when she'd called and told him that she was free tonight for a bout of online gaming, after she'd told him a few days ago that she was going to focus entirely on her cases, but there was nothing she could do right now. She'd go to the café again tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon she would try to get in touch with Johanna Waters' ex coworkers. Until then, she needed to relax for a while.

Jon's voice in her headphones brought her back to the game.

"_Friend or foe?"_

"Let's find out."

Their characters walked together to meet with the man outlined against the grey sky at the end of the road. Another player, who most certainly had his own agenda. They just needed to discover if they could build an alliance with him in order to defeat the ones who were tracking them, or if he was another enemy. As they got closer, the focus shifted and she noticed the helm he was wearing. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the bull horns that adorned it, remembering Gendry's words about his childhood nickname.

The new character attacked before they could talk to him, which was a stupid move since there were two of them and he was on his own, and he ended up running away.

"_Well, that answered my question."_

She nodded before remembering he couldn't see her.

"Come on, we have a magical weapon to find."

They played for another two hours, until Jon had to leave to go to class. It was a good thing too, she probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all otherwise. She took the laptop off her knees to place it on her small coffee table, yawning and staring blankly at the screen as the end credits rolled down. She wasn't really seeing anything, until one name caught her attention. Her eyes shot wide open.

Gendry Waters.

_That's_ where she knew his name from! When he'd introduced himself, she'd been sure she'd seen it somewhere, but she hadn't been able to place it. A small smile crept up her lips as she took her cell phone and typed a quick text.

_You worked on The 5 Kings?_

Despite the late hour, the reply arrived almost instantly.

_You know that game?_

_Hell yeah. Love it. You weren't playing it tonight, by any chance?_

_No. Why?_

_Ran into a player wearing a bull's head helm. Thought of you._

_:)_

_Shut up._

She could almost hear his laugh.

_I usually don't play the games I've worked on. Annoys me to see the flaws. But yeah, the bull's sort of my signature. I try to sneak it in when I can._

_Nice touch. And nice job. This game's gorgeous._

_Thanks. Let me guess. You're Lady Williams. _

She smiled. When Jon and her had started playing and had to choose their characters out of the thirty or so possibilities, he'd known even before her who she was going to pick. It wasn't too hard given the character's description. 'Lady Williams' was a 20-year-old highborn girl who'd run away from home to escape the fate her birth destined her to. She could fight but was hopeless at politics and manners. The connection had been easy to make.

'_Course I am. She kicks ass. _

_That she does._

'_Night, Bull._

'_Night, m'lady._

* * *

"Jon's never going to believe me when I tell him I know the guy who created the Dark Forest."

"Who's Jon?"

"My favorite brother."

"How many do you have?"

"Four."

"That explains a lot."

She could have pretended she had no idea what he was talking about. Instead, she kicked his shin under the table, effectively proving his point, and she grinned.

"I guess it does."

"Any sisters?"

"One."

"Don't like her very much?"

"She's my sister. I love her. I just can't stay in the same room for more than five minutes without feeling the urge to strangle her."

He let out a low chuckle. They were sitting at what was now their usual table, keeping an eye on what was happening around them, but she didn't hold much hope that they'd come up with anything interesting. Most likely, whatever her father had wanted to observe here was long gone. She would give it another day and then she would have to give up this lead, it was taking up too much of their time for too little results.

"Why do you work as a freelancer? I don't want to inflate your ego or anything, but your work really is amazing. You could get a job anywhere."

He smiled his thanks at the compliment and shrugged at the question.

"I like the freedom. I'm not after money, though I'll admit that might change if I can't find my father on my own. I may have to get a better paid position in order to hire someone full time."

She took a sip of her coffee to hide her instinctive reaction of guilt at the mention of his investigation. She'd decided not to tell him she was working on it. She didn't want to get his hopes up, and she didn't want him to feel like he owed her, she knew he wouldn't like that. She'd talk to him if she ever found a clue. Still, even if she knew her reasons were rational, she didn't like hiding this from him, especially knowing how much it meant to him.

"Have you made any progress?"

"Not really. I went to the hospital where I was born, even managed to find someone who worked there at the time and remembered my mom, but she didn't know anything about my father."

She'd thought about doing this very thing, had decided against it for this very reason. It wasn't that the records were sealed and someone might have known at some point, his mother had just never told anyone. Still, Arya would have gotten around to the hospital eventually, after she'd gone through all the other options.

"It was a good idea. What's your next move?"

"I might try the bar where she worked. I don't think any of her old colleagues still work there, but maybe some of the regulars knew her. I'll show her picture around and see if anything happens."

"You're getting good at this."

"I'm learning."

Her phone vibrated, signaling a new text. Yoren.

_Starbucks on 6th. Now._

Her eyebrows shot up. The urgency was clear even through the written words. This wasn't like him. She typed a short reply while motioning for Gendry to follow her, she left a few bills on the table and she got up, Nymeria trotting next to her to keep up with her quick strides.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she admitted as she started the car and sped through the morning traffic, anxious to find out what Yoren needed to tell her.

She made it to the Starbucks in record time and considered asking Gendry to stay in the car since she wasn't sure the cop would talk to her if she wasn't alone. But she didn't say anything when he got out of the car and followed her. She'd face the problem if it came up.

Yoren was sitting in a sofa near the furthest wall. She strode straight to him and sat down across from him. He put his newspaper down, frowning when Gendry took a seat next to her.

"Who's that?"

"A friend."

"A friend you trust?"

"More or less," she replied, ignoring Gendry's fake offended look.

He probably thought she was joking, but her answer was a serious warning to Yoren. She didn't want him to say anything about the fact that the murder victim was her father, she hoped he understood. She did trust Gendry. She just wasn't ready for him to know about this. It was the most personal and heartbreaking thing she'd ever had to go through, she had loved her father so much... The wound was still as raw as it had been after that first terrifying phone call, and talking about it made things worse. She knew, she'd tried with her brothers and even with Sansa. She'd never dealt with his death on an emotional level, she couldn't remember if she'd even shed a tear. She knew it wasn't a good thing, but she just didn't know what to do about it. And what she was doing right now, investigating and focusing all her energy on finding who was responsible, worked for her. As long as she managed to see this as just another case, she could handle it. Anything else and she might break down.

She suddenly realized that Yoren was talking and she focused her attention on what he was saying.

"I only got your message today. Petyr Baelish... Don't mess with him, Arya."

"Who is he? All I found is his driving license. I couldn't find anything about what he does or..."

"He owns half the shady businesses in town. He deals mostly in strip clubs, prostitution and gambling. I didn't know he went by Littlefinger."

The word strip clubs rang an alarm bell in her brain.

"Summer Girls?"

"Yep, that's him. How'd you know?"

"Wild guess."

"He owns pretty much anything with a 'Girls' in it. They say he's not a violent man himself, but he knows how to make problems disappear."

"Why would our murder victim have met with him?"

"No idea. But you might find it interesting to know that Baelish has links with the Lannisters."

It _was_ interesting. Robert Baratheon's wife was a Lannister. Or used to be, before she married him. It meant Littlefinger probably had links with Robert as well... And maybe with her father's reasons for coming to his friend's rescue. This was a connection, the best lead she'd had in months.

"How do I get in touch with him?"

"You don't. Seriously, Arya, this guy's dangerous. Stay away from him."

"You can't tell me something like this and expect me to just let it go."

"I'm not kidding. Do you know what we found of the last guy who so much as looked at Baelish the wrong way? One hand. That's all."

"Good thing I have no intention of looking at him the wrong way then. Thanks for the tip."

She left before he could stop her, Gendry and Nymeria close behind her. She didn't go straight to her car. Instead, she stopped at a newspaper stand and brought a few papers. Only then did she get to her car and drive back to the café. Once they were sitting at their table again, she took the papers out of her bag and ended half of them to Gendry.

"Here. Look for anyone hiring dancers or something like that."

"You're not thinking what I think you're..."

"Spare me the clichés. I am and you know it. Now shut up and look."

He looked like he was about to protest, but he reconsidered, sighed and got to work. After a few minutes, she'd already circled three interesting ads while keeping an eye on everything that went on around her. She got to the end of her newspapers at the same time Gendry finished his. He didn't wait for her to ask, just handed her a page, pointing at a circled ad.

"This one looks promising. Auditions are tonight."

She lit up at that. The ones she'd found had not been for another week.

"I have some shopping to do."

* * *

She cringed as she looked at her reflection. It wasn't that she looked bad, but this wasn't her. The black lace bra and matching panties were anything but practical. But they were sexy, especially since she was wearing high leather boots and nothing else with them. She'd let her hair loose, the brown, wavy strands falling around her face and caressing her bare shoulders, and she'd even put make-up on. She'd gone with a smoky style that made her look almost exotic, for the first time ever thankful for the hours of lessons Sansa had put her through during their early teenage years. Deciding this wasn't going to get any better, she put on a short leather skirt instead of her usual jeans or shorts, and she chose a bright red shirt out of the three low-cut tops she'd bought in the afternoon. Once the ensemble was finished, she cringed again. Really, who was that whore in the mirror?

She'd have given anything not to have to deal with Gendry tonight. For the first time since she'd met him, she was uncomfortable with the idea of him watching her work. She'd gotten really good at ignoring the sharp pangs of attraction that made themselves known every once in a while, but she had a feeling tonight wouldn't help with the whole bury-your-head-in-the-sand strategy she had going on.

She'd gone so far as to ask him not to come, but he'd said he wouldn't miss it for the world, and underneath the amused smile and teasing eyes, she'd seen something deeper, a concern he was trying hard not to show. He didn't just want to make fun of her new look, he wanted to be there in case something went wrong, though he knew better than to say so out loud.

She'd left him at his flat since he didn't need to be with her for her shopping session, and she briefly entertained the idea of leaving him there and going to the club on her own, but since he knew where she was headed, he would just find her there anyway.

Nymeria growled disapprovingly at the sight of her, which did nothing to ease her growing nervousness. This was a new area for her, she had no idea what she was doing, she wasn't a particularly good dancer, and she'd certainly never tried dancing around a fucking pole. Not only was she going to make a fool of herself, she was taking a big risk with this undercover thing. If Petyr Baelish was as dangerous as Yoren and Jaqen had told her, he might suspect something, and then... Well, she didn't want to think about what would happen then.

Not to mention, Littlefinger might not even be here tonight. It was entirely possible he left the auditions matters in the hands of his staff, provided this club was even his to begin with.

She made a stop on her way to Gendry's and once she got there, she called him and hung up after just one ring, as usual. He was there in less than a minute. She slid from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat. When he opened the door and raised an eyebrow, she simply said, "You're driving".

He shrugged and complied. As he maneuvered the car in the empty streets, she opened the bottle she'd bought earlier and downed a large gulp of tequila.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Taking the edge off. I guess it's a good thing you came after all."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not trying to get drunk. I just want to forget I'm gonna have to dance."

"Half-naked," he added with a smirk.

She punched his arm.

"Not helping."

"Not trying to."

The rest of the ride was silent, and Arya placed the bottle on the floor after two smaller sips. Dancing wasn't terrifying enough that she'd risk losing control in order to feel more comfortable with it. Gendry parked the car a block away from the strip-club. She'd read a few articles online about the place and had been glad to note it didn't seem to be a front for anything else. There had never been any trouble with the police or troubling disappearances, nothing out of the ordinary. It was good, since not knowing if she was going to meet Baelish tonight, she might need to actually work here for a while, until the owner graced the club with his presence.

"Fuck, Arya, that's _short_!"

She was confused for a second, until she realized that in the darkness of the car, he hadn't been able to really see her outfit, but now that they were out with the street lights surrounding them, he could take a good look at her. She fidgeted with the tiny piece of fabric that the saleswoman had called a skirt.

"Yeah, well, I'm not trying to infiltrate a convent, am I?"

He shook his head and she saw him swallow hard.

"No, I know, but still..."

His disapproval angered her. She couldn't deal with this right now, she needed to focus.

"Who the hell do you think you are? My brother? Look..."

"Definitely not," was the immediate answer, effectively cutting her off mid-sentence.

She felt her cheeks grow hot at the implication, her anger instantly turning to something akin to shyness as she tried to regain some sort of control.

"Don't come in with me. They probably don't approve of applicants coming to auditions with male company. Wait for a few minutes before you follow me in."

He nodded wordlessly. As she walked past him and felt his gaze follow her, she admitted to herself that she was going to have to deal with whatever this was. She'd tried to pull away from him just a few days ago (God, had it really only been a week?) because she'd sensed he could be dangerous to her. That had failed miserably, and after spending so much time with him, she was left with feelings she wasn't quite sure she understood or wanted.

As she covered the short distance to the club, she managed to regain control of her nerves and to push these distracting thoughts to the back of her mind. She was feeling more confident when she pushed the door open, even if her feet were already killing her. Damn high heels.

She saw him as soon as she entered. He looked exactly like she'd have imagined even if she hadn't seen his picture: smart, clean-cut, and wearing a shark-like smile as he looked at one of the dancers almost clinically, one hand pensively caressing his short black beard. Since it was Friday night, the strip-club was crowded, yet he immediately waved her over, seemingly not even taking his eyes off of the woman who was now hanging upside down, her legs around the pole. She walked up to him, her hips slightly swaying to the music as she tried to get in character. Once she was in front of him, he spoke without looking at her.

"You're here for the job?"

"Yes."

"How much experience do you have?"

"None."

Her frankness earned her his full attention. She almost took a step back, unsettled by the severity of his gaze, but she firmly held her ground, even lifted her chin in an attempt to show him she wouldn't back down.

"What makes you think you're the one I need? I have a dozen experienced girls just waiting to..."

"I'm a fast learner. And I'll work harder than any of them."

His eyes slowly travelled all the way down her body and up again, and she fought hard not to squirm under his cool, professional gaze. Then he focused on her face. For a second, she thought she saw something flicker on his face, but it might have been a trick of the light.

"Pretty enough."

A single wave, and the dancer he'd been watching stepped down from the elevated scene.

"Show me what you can do."

At first, she didn't realize he was talking to her. When she understood, her eyes went wide with surprise and what she hoped could pass for mere nervousness, but was closer to horror.

"Here?"

He sighed impatiently.

"Yes. Get to it, I don't have all night."

"But..."

"Clients are a better judge than anyone. They like you, you get the job. They don't, you get out. Now, clothes off, moves on."

Still dazed from the knowledge that she was going to have to dance in front of dozens of customers, she swallowed over her protest and bought trembling hands to the hem of her top to lift it over her head. She let it fall to the ground and stepped out of her skirt in the next instant, fighting hard to ignore the stares of the four men sitting around the scene. She tried to read Littlefinger's expression, but there was no approval, no disgust, nothing that could give any indication of what he was thinking. As she placed her foot on a high stool to use it as a step to the elevated individual scene, she caught movement near the door out of the corner of her eyes and she briefly closed them in embarrassment. She knew she should have come without him, though she'd never in a million years suspected she would have to dance in the middle of the crowded room, and more to the point in front of him. Opening her eyes, she gave him a quick begging glance, praying he wouldn't do anything stupid, like try to get her out of here before she could at least try to convince Littlefinger. She'd hoped she would get to audition in front of the owner, and the owner alone, and that would give her a chance to try and get some information out of him, but now the chances of that happening were slim to none. She could only hope she'd get the job and it would give her an opportunity to talk to Baelish later.

To his credit, Gendry didn't even bat an eye at the sight of her clad only in black lace and leather, perched on a circular scene with four men focusing entirely on her, and more stealing glances her way between gawking at the strippers who were closer to them. He went straight to the bar to order a drink, and only after that did he turn his attention to her, as if he was just another client come to enjoy the show. She sent him a silent thank you for his coolness, and wished he would just look away for the next five minutes or so.

Her lips stretched up in an almost relieved smile when the music changed and she recognized the first chords. At least her first attempt at pole dancing would be to something she knew and liked.

"What are you waiting for?"

The slightly irritated voice shook her out of her reverie and she gripped the pole just as David Coverdale claimed he didn't know where he was going.

As she began moving in time with the music (at least she hoped so), everything seemed to blur and she forgot where she was for a moment. She wondered how Jon would react if he ever found out about this. She felt herself chuckle at the thought of her mother being here right now. She imagined Sansa's indignant squeal. In her mind, she saw Robb punch Littlefinger and every single man who was watching her. She didn't doubt for a second what Bran would think: he'd tell her that if this could lead her to their father's killer, she was right to do it. And Rickon... Well, she hoped her youngest brother never found out about this, or the teasing would never cease.

She jumped and stopped dancing abruptly when she felt cool fingers on her skin, just below her stomach. Out of pure instinct, she slapped the hand away, and just then the music stopped. Finally coming back to her surroundings, Arya became aware of the fact that only one light remained, the one trained on her, and that every single person in the club was watching her, including the other dancers. She searched for Gendry but couldn't find him, the spot he'd previously stood in now empty. Feeling something tickle her stomach, she looked down to see a 100 dollar bill tucked in her panties. She took it and looked at Littlefinger, the question clearly written all over her face.

"Consider this an advance. You start on Monday. But be here tomorrow morning at 10, sharp. You need to learn how to use the pole better. And you'll have to try some outfits on."

Her mind completely blank, she nodded, slid to the ground, gathered her clothes and quickly put them on, barely hearing the whistles and calls. Then she bolted for the door, anxious to get out of here before she ruined her success by twisting an ankle or hitting Baelish for the way he'd touched her. The fresh air seemed to clear her head a bit and she nodded her goodbye to the bouncer before she started walking in the direction of her car.

"Sorry. I couldn't stay."

She jumped at the voice, but relaxed when she realized it was Gendry. He'd been waiting for her in the shadow of a doorway, probably ready to run back in if she hadn't gone out just a few minutes after him. She gave him an uneasy smile.

"I got the job."

"Never doubted it."

The silence seemed to stretch on indefinitely as they walked side by side towards the car and he unlocked it. He opened the driver door, but before she climbed in the passenger seat, Arya asked, her voice slightly shaky, "What... What happened in there? I sort of spaced out."

"I noticed. Littlefinger noticed. Everyone noticed. You were in your own little world. It was... enthralling."

_Not_ what she had expected him to say. Only then did she notice his tightly clenched fists. Fully coming back to her senses at last, she also took in his tense stance and dark gaze. She frowned. He'd known what she was going to do, the fact that it had happened in public instead of just in front of Baelish shouldn't have annoyed him so much. They got in the car, but she stilled his hand before he could put the key in the ignition.

"Why are you mad?"

He jerked his hand away and gave her an incredulous look.

"You're joking, right?" She shook her head in confusion, and soon found out what real anger looked like on him. "Damn it, Arya! Did you see the way those guys were looking at you?" She opened her mouth to answer, but he wasn't done. "And do I need to remind you that not one, but _two_ very intimidating men warned you off Baelish and you're still going after him?"

"I'm not! It's not like I'm trying to kill him or anything. I just want to know what my murder victim wanted with him."

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll make a difference when one of his men is disposing of your body."

"I'm not going to get killed." He looked like he was about to argue, but it was her turn to cut him off as the realization dawned on her. "Wait a minute. You're not angry. You're _worried_."

A humorless laugh preceded his answer.

"Worried? Arya, I'm fucking _terrified_! Do you have any idea how much danger you're in? Those people... Half of them would sell you to Baelish, and the other half would rape you first. If he ever finds out what you're up to..."

"He won't."

"You have no way of..."

"He won't," she repeated, her voice firm, yet soothing.

And for the first time since the beginning of this conversation, he looked at her. Some of the tension seemed to leave his body as he drank in her calm and got his fear under control.

"Look, I just... Whatever the client's paying you, it's not worth it."

Her confusion returned full force and she frowned, until she remembered. Oh, right. He still thought that she was doing this for someone else. She sighed and shook her head.

"Believe me, it is."

"Arya..."

A small wave of her hand was enough to make him listen to her. When she spoke, her voice was raw with emotion she didn't try to conceal for once.

"I can't do this tonight. There's too much I need to... It doesn't matter. I never intended to listen to anything you had to say about this case, but I'll promise you this: I'm going to talk to you tomorrow, and if you still want to convince me I should give up, I'll let you try."

His smile was equal parts baffled, hopeful and bitter.

"But you don't think I'll succeed."

"No," she answered honestly. "It's the best I can do, Gendry. And you have no idea what this much is costing me."

It was his turn to sigh. He kept looking at her like he wanted to say more, but after a minute, he seemed to decide it could wait. He drove her home and called a cab to go back to his own flat. When she kicked the door open, Nymeria greeted her with a small lick to her fingers, and Arya fell to her knees in front of her, hugging her for comfort as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that tomorrow, she would have to find a way to tell Gendry about her father without breaking down.

* * *

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Sorry it's been a while, life has been crazy lately. Good crazy, but still crazy :) Anyway, here's the new emotional roller-coaster of a chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Her new colleagues were amazingly supportive, giving her tips as to how to use the pole better and how to handle customers when they became too daring. They told her everything she needed to know about the place and the job, and Arya found herself feeling slightly guilty that she was deceiving them. Those six girls were really nice. Three were obviously doing this because they didn't have much choice, one was too high to care most of the time according to the others, and the last two, who Arya had instantly decided she was going to like, did it because they loved it, as simple as that. They loved dancing, the feeling of power over the men, the money, and the party life.

"Oh, one last piece of advice. If you have a boyfriend, don't let him come in here while you're on. It never ends well," the one who'd introduced herself as Shae recommended in her slightly accented voice.

The others nodded knowingly and Arya shrugged.

"I don't have anyone."

"Good. Now let's see what you should wear."

She'd been practicing in the same set of underwear she'd worn the night before. Now the girls led her to the dressing room and she found herself surrounded by dozens of choices. There was black and red everywhere, mixed in with a bit of white for what she assumed were role-playing numbers, like with this barely-there nurse uniform. But it was a flash of another color that caught her eye. As the others blabbered on around her, arguing that she should wear a black ensemble since her audition had been such a success, and that no, red would suit her coloring better, Arya walked to the end of the room and selected a light blue bra. She held it in front of her, smiling as she realized she'd been right, this color was definitely close to a certain Bull's eyes. When she turned around and held it questioningly in front of her, the tall one named Osha gave her a thumb-up.

"You could totally pull that off. Innocent-yet-eager-to-please is gonna look great on you. How old are you?"

"22." Six pointed stares fixed on her. She chuckled and admitted, "19".

Shae smiled.

"That's what I thought. Well, go try this on. You'll need to practice hard tomorrow and Monday morning, you can wear this to get used to it. Then you'll be on on Monday night."

Arya nodded and ignored the nervous flutters in her stomach. She had no idea how long she was going to have to do this before she managed to corner Littlefinger and have a chat with him, but she sincerely hoped it wouldn't be too long. Not only was the job going to be a torture, lying to these perfectly nice girls was not making her feel great either.

* * *

She had intended to go straight to Gendry's after her stripper training session, but when she turned her phone on and saw that she had a new message from a number she'd called after her afternoon of shopping yesterday, she knew it wasn't going to happen.

"_Hi, Miss Stark, Ellen Globson speaking. You called me yesterday about... well, you know. If you still want to talk to me, I'm free after lunch. Call me back."_

Her hands were shaking when she pushed the button and waited for the other woman to pick up the phone. The conversation was short, they agreed to meet half an hour later. Arya hung up and sent a text to Gendry, letting him know that her morning had been pretty much uneventful and that she was going to grab a late lunch before coming over. She turned her phone off without waiting for his reply and drove to her destination.

As she sat on a bench in the park, wishing she'd had the time to go get Nymeria since her dog would have loved to run around in the grass, she glanced at her watch about six times before a woman in her mid forties approached her.

"Arya Stark?"

She stood up and held out a hand.

"Miss Globson, thank you for meeting me."

They sat down together, and Arya went right down to business.

"So, you were friends with Johanna Waters."

"We used to work together at the bar, went out for drinks a couple of times with other colleagues. Johanna didn't have many friends, I guess I was the closest one she had, even if we were never that close."

"You knew her around the time she got pregnant." It wasn't a question, she already knew the answer. Still, Ellen Globson nodded silently. "What about the father?"

"She wouldn't talk about him. I asked a few times, just good-natured teasing, but there was this one time she got really angry and told me to leave her alone. I stopped after that."

She'd tried very hard not to hope, but at this, she realized that she had. She didn't let her disappointment show though, just kept asking questions.

"Do you know anything about him? Where she could have met him, for instance?"

"Anywhere, I suppose, although I always suspected he had to be a customer. Johanna wasn't much of a social butterfly, there weren't many places she went to apart from home and work."

"Ok, that's a start. Anything else?"

"That time she screamed at me... What made her angry was that I asked if he was married and if that was why she didn't want to talk about him."

"So you think he _was_ married."

"Seemed logical at the time. Now, I don't know. It could have been anything. Maybe he was underage, maybe he beat her, maybe he'd ran away when she told him about the kid... I really have no idea. I'm sorry I'm not much help."

"You are."

She already had one more piece of information. Though Globson's other theories were plausible, the married thing was the most likely to be the truth.

"You never saw her with someone who could be the father?" The woman shook her head apologetically. "She never came into work one day and let something slip?"

"Not that I remember."

"Do you think she loved him?"

This seemed to catch her off guard.

"I... I don't know. I think most of the time she didn't like him very much."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just... When she got pregnant, at first, she panicked, but then she got used to the idea, and you could see she loved that child even before he was born. Anytime she talked about him, she just seemed to... glow. There was none of that the few times I tried to talk to her about the father. Whenever she thought about that man, she'd just close down. It's hard to explain."

"No, I get it. What about the boy? Did you meet him?"

That brought a smile to the woman's lips.

"Once. Cute kid, though he didn't look anything like her."

Arya had already figured that from the photos she'd seen of Gendry's mother and decided it could either be a clue as to what his father looked like... or nature's whim. Not much to hope from that. She thought for a moment, but there was nothing else she could ask. She could always call her back if she learned something new and wanted to discuss it with her anyway. Standing up, she waited until Globson did the same before thanking her for her time. She'd already started walking away when the woman called her back.

"Have you talked to her roommate?"

That stopped her dead in her tracks. She slowly turned back and repeated, "Roommate?"

She hadn't found anything about a roommate. She'd gotten her hands on copies of Johanna Waters' leases, all three of them, but there had been nothing about her living with someone.

"Yes, a girl named Anna, I believe. I met her once when Johanna's car broke down and I had to drive her home from work."

"What do you know about her?"

"She was around the same age and she was a nurse or something like that, that's it."

"Thank you."

Finding her with so little information would be hard, but not impossible. She'd just have to gain access to the archives of every single hospital in San Diego. She'd start with those who had computerized everything, hacking into their files wouldn't be too hard. If she didn't come up with anything, she'd need to find a way to see the paper archives. By the time she climbed into her car, she was almost jumping up and down with excitement. It wasn't much, but it was _something_, and though it would be a lot of work and take up a lot of time, for the first time, she felt like Gendry's father was within reach.

* * *

Sensing her unease, Nymeria gently nudged her hand, silently telling her to knock. Arya glanced down at her dog and sighed. She didn't want to do this. But she'd promised, so she made herself knock. The door opened almost instantly, and Nymeria quickly slipped past Gendry to go lie down next to the couch. Arya followed her in and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure how to proceed. It wasn't like she was in the habit of pouring her heart out to just anybody.

"Do you want a drink?"

She shook her head and looked at him helplessly, the words stuck in her throat. She'd been sure that she could do this, that she could talk to him about her father in that detached way that always seemed to work with Yoren, but this wasn't what this was like. Her conversations with Yoren were always professional. He'd never looked at her with the concern she could read in Gendry's eyes. He'd never treated her with the pity you'd expect from people when they found out you were the daughter of a murder victim. He'd never taken her hand to lead her to a couch and sit down next to her the way Gendry was doing right now. And if he had, she would have kicked him.

She tried to find a way to start the conversation, kept opening and closing her mouth, but she just didn't know where to start. Somehow the simple sentence 'my father was killed' just wouldn't make it past her lips. She turned the words around in her head, but though she knew, logically, that not saying them out loud wouldn't make them any less true, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Irritated at her own inability to just blurt it out, she abruptly stood up and began to pace.

"There's no client, is there?" His soft voice put an immediate end to her pacing. Her shoulders slumped as the nervous anticipation flew out of her body, leaving only a feeling of emptiness, and she slowly shook her head in answer. He stayed where he was even though she could tell from the way he tensed that he wanted to get up and close the gap between them. "Who was it?"

There was no need to ask him who he was talking about.

"My..."

The word died before it made it out of her mouth and she cleared her throat. Still nothing came. In the end, it was Gendry who answered his own question.

"Your father." She couldn't even find it in her to be surprised that he'd come to the right conclusion, but he explained anyway. "You've talked about everyone in your family except for him."

Unexpectedly, a small smile graced her lips at that.

"You _had_ to notice that."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

'Do you want to'. A question. Something strange happened at his choice of words. The weight seemed to lift at least a little, as if she was suddenly realizing that she didn't _have_ to talk about it. She'd sort of kept her promise to let him know why this investigation was so important to her, even if he'd done most of the work, and whether she would tell him the details or not was her choice, not an obligation. Feeling strangely relieved, she took a deep breath, nodded, and sat down next to him once again.

And she told him everything. About her father coming to California to help a friend out. About that fateful phone call a year and a half ago. About how he'd been found shot in an alley. About how after six months of dead-ends, the police had seemed to give up on the investigation. About her decision to come here and pick up where the cops had left off. About Yoren telling her that clues had a tendency to disappear in this case and offering that they work together because he didn't trust his colleagues or his superiors. About becoming a PI so she'd have access to resources most people had no idea even existed. About coming up empty week after week after week. About the folder Yoren had given her the day he'd sought her out and about the fact that this had been the reason why she hadn't wanted to take his case.

Throughout her story, he didn't utter a word, he just listened as she tried and mostly succeeded in keeping her voice steady. Once she was finished, he just said, "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yes."

"You're not going to..."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Believe it or not, even an orphan can understand the concept of family."

"I never thought you didn't. It's just... You were so mad yesterday, I..."

"I was scared, Arya, we've been over this. I still am. But I get why you need to do this."

She hadn't realized how badly she was craving his support until this moment. It was ridiculous. She'd never let her mother's opinion matter, and here she was, feeling relieved that this guy she'd just met approved of her decisions. Except if she was honest with herself, she had to admit time didn't mean a thing. In the short time she'd known him, she'd learned a great deal about him, and him about her, especially after this talk. And wasn't it what mattered? The fact that she'd had absolutely no doubt he would rush in that strip-club to rescue her if she'd needed him. The fact that he'd known not to get close to her while she was trying to tell him about her father. The fact that she'd trusted him with _Nymeria_, for God's sake! The fact that he'd seen right through her when she'd tried to push him away. And more to the point, the fact that she'd been nothing but herself from the moment they'd met, and he was still here.

"I... I don't know what to say."

"That's got to be a first."

Oh yeah, and let's not forget the fact that he could make her laugh even in a moment like this. She half-heartedly punched his shoulder and let her head rest against the back of the couch, closing her eyes for a minute. After so much apprehension and such an emotional conversation, she was drained. His voice was barely above a whisper when he asked her if she had anything else to do today.

"No. Why?"

"I'll go make some coffee."

She nodded gratefully and felt the slight shift as he left the couch. She never even heard him leave the room.

When she opened her eyes, it was dark and she was lying down on the couch, a pillow under her head. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, disoriented. Then the events of the day came back to her and she remembered where she was. Giving a quick caress to Nymeria, who was still lying down in the same spot, she called out his name.

"I'm in here."

She followed the sound of his voice to the room where he worked and found him hunched over a drawing. He held it out for her to see.

"What do you think?"

She gasped as she took in the details of the sketch. There was only the head and part of the body for now, but it was more than enough.

"It's Nymeria."

"Yep. One of my clients needs wolves for his next game. I was hoping I could use her. With your permission, of course."

"Only if I can keep this one."

"You drive a hard bargain."

"You already knew that."

"True. Let me finish it. I'll give it to you when it's done."

She nodded, and he placed the piece of paper back on his desk before standing up and leaving the room with her.

"So, do you want this coffee for real now?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious.

"You knew I was going to fall asleep. That's why you asked me if I had anything else to do."

He grinned as she followed him into the kitchen.

"I'm amazed you held off this long," he admitted unrepentantly. "You were dead on your feet."

"Part of it was your fault."

"How so?"

She perched herself up on the white countertop in the middle of his very functional kitchen, watching him as he went about making the coffee.

"I've been stressing about the whole confession thing."

"Why? I mean, I get that it's hard for you to talk about, but it can't have been the first time you've had to..." His voice trailed off when he saw her pointed look. "It was?"

She shrugged like it was no big deal. The people who mattered already knew about her father, and everyone else just didn't register enough on her radar for her to bare her soul to them. He seemed to get that she didn't want to talk about it anymore and changed the subject.

"How did it go this morning?"

"Not bad. I got to meet the other girls, practice and choose my outfit."

"I kind of liked the black one."

She gave him a mysterious smile.

"You'd probably love this one."

His eyebrows shot up. He clearly hadn't expected her to acknowledge his comment, much less tease him right back.

"I guess we'll find out on Monday."

"You're going to come?"

He looked at her as if he thought she'd gone crazy.

"You thought I was going to leave you alone with those sharks?"

"Well, yeah... I mean, it's Monday night. There's gonna be a grand total of three customers and I doubt Littlefinger is going to be here, it'll be safe enough. Besides..."

She bit down on her lower lip, hesitating. He placed a cup in her hand and took a sip of his own. "Besides?"

She winced. She now knew that what she'd thought on her way over here was wrong, and he probably wasn't going to like that she'd thought it at all. Still, she made herself confess.

"I've found the man I was looking for. There's not much you can learn from the rest of my investigation. A murder case is not going to help you with your research, and I thought you might want to stop following me around. You know, start focusing on your father."

There was only silence for a minute. Then he shook his head with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

"Do you seriously think this is still just about my research?" Because she had no idea how to answer that, she stalled for time with a sip of coffee. It made him chuckle. "Come on Arya. You can't be that clueless."

"Hey!" He just looked at her, challenging her to prove him wrong. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do more: strangle him, or laugh. She settled for a glare. He smirked. She sighed in partial surrender. "Gendry..."

"Look, I get it. No distraction, no emotional risks. That's fine with me. I'm perfectly content with being friends. For now."

Friends was already a huge step for someone as closed off as she was, as he was probably aware. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt close to anyone who wasn't part of her family. Yet there was nothing she could do about it now. As hard as she'd tried not to let it happen, he _was_ her friend. She was about to reply when he spoke again.

"Just tell me this: if I kissed you right now, would you push me away?"

"What?"

"I'm not gonna do it, I promise. You're safe. Just answer the question."

She thought about it for a moment, and decided he deserved just as much honesty as he was giving her.

"No. Unless you're a really bad kisser."

His laugh made her smile as some of the tension that had been building after his first loaded question left her body. Relieved that she wouldn't have to find a way to explain that yes, she was attracted to him, but no, she couldn't afford to consider a relationship at the moment, she went back to the beginning of the conversation.

"You'll be here on Monday, then?"

"Oh yes. I have to see the outfit."

* * *

She had a few good leads. Too many, in fact. She'd already found four women who could be the one she was looking for, and she'd only focused on the hospitals. There was still the possibility that Anna had worked in a clinic or in a medical center. She hadn't been able to check if those four nurses had lived in the area 26 years ago yet, even though she'd worked all night between Saturday and Sunday, all afternoon Sunday, and part of the night between Sunday and Monday. Which explained her yawn as Shae tried to show her one of the moves that were supposed to drive the customers crazy and get her bigger tips.

"Are you ok, Cat?" Osha asked from behind the bar, where she was chatting with Loras, the bartender.

She'd told them her name was Cat. It was the first thing that had come to mind.

"Too little sleep. Don't worry, I'll grab a quick nap in the afternoon and be at the top of my game tonight."

"I'm not worried. Either you'll be good and prove we're good teachers, or you'll be bad, get fired, and that'll mean more tips for us."

Arya laughed.

"Don't count on it."

She worked for another hour before the other girls decided she'd had enough practice. Since it was early in the afternoon, she decided she still had enough time to visit the last place on her list. Once this was out of the way, she could focus solely on Littlefinger and on the strip-club. She called Gendry, who informed her he'd be waiting for her. When he climbed into her car, he asked, "I thought we'd seen all the places your dad visited before he died?"

"There's this one place left, I saved it for last because I don't think it'll tell us anything. But, you know..."

"Covering all the bases."

"Exactly."

"How did practice go?"

"Good. These girls are fun. And they're leaving me the first shift every night this week, so I'll be on when the clients are relatively sober."

"When will you come pick me up?"

"Ideally? Never." She laughed when he rolled his eyes. "Ok, ok. 7."

He nodded, and they kept talking until she parked the car in front of a tall white building and Gendry noted, "Funny. I used to work here."

"Really?"

"There's a gaming company on the 8th floor. I worked for them last year."

Arya jerked her hand back to catch her bag behind her seat and, ignoring his confused look, frantically turned the pages of her notepad until she found what she was looking for. Her heart skipped a beat when she found it. 8th floor. Her voice was weak when she asked, "Mott Inc.?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?" She showed him her notes with the name underlined beneath the address. It took a second for him to process the information. "Wait. Your father visited Mott Inc. last year?" She nodded. "When?"

"January. Two weeks before he died."

She looked at him and didn't need to ask the obvious question. He nodded, the silent answer as deafening as her unspoken question had been. _Yes, I was working here back then._

"Show me the picture." Confused, she raised her eyebrows and he explained, "Your father's picture. I never took a good look at it."

Wordlessly, she took it out of the inside pocket of her purse and handed it to him. She watched his face carefully, trying to read his reaction as he took in the brown hair, the grey eyes that were so much like her own and the kind face. She didn't have to wait long.

"Fuck."

"You know him."

It wasn't a question. He ran his hand through his hair, looking as troubled as she felt.

"He came to see me here last year. I never knew his last name."

"What did he want?"

"To see my work. He said he was looking for a concept artist and he wanted to see what I could do. He stayed for a few hours, watched me work, asked some questions about my job, then he left and I never heard of him again."

She was trying to think, but it was impossible through the whirlwind of emotions that were flying through her mind. Her head started to hurt and she brought a hand to her forehead, trying to keep the pounding at bay, barely aware of her surroundings. She could feel she was close to fainting, and the tiny space of her car suddenly became suffocating. She reached for the handle and threw the door open, stumbling outside and almost collapsing in the process. She caught herself just in time and leaned against the back door, her hands on her knees, her head bent down as she tried to take in large gulps of air but only succeeded in keeping her mouth uselessly open. She jumped when she felt a hand on the small of her back, but before she could jerk away, the fingers attached to it caught her wrist and another hand lifted her chin. She closed her eyes against the panic and became aware of a voice trying to pierce through the fog enveloping her brain.

"Arya. Arya, look at me. Please. Please, open your eyes."

The voice sounded as scared as she felt, and that was what made her obey. She found herself looking into clear blue eyes etched with concern and she frantically shook her head even though she had no idea what she was fighting so hard against.

"Arya, I need you to breathe. Take a deep breath for me."

She did.

"Good. Another one."

She did. And didn't wait for the next command to take in another gulp of air. Breathing became natural again, though she was more panting than anything else. After a few minutes, she managed to regain enough of her senses to identify the man who was standing in front of her.

"Gendry."

Her own voice sounded very far away. She heard him sigh in what she assumed was relief.

"You scared the shit out of..."

He was cut off when she collapsed against him and he had to wrap his arms around her to steady her.

"Shit! Arya, are you gonna be ok?"

She nodded, though she wasn't sure if that was a lie or not. He slid to the ground, his back against the car, his legs stretched out in front of him on the sidewalk, bringing her down with him, never letting her go. She found herself sitting in his laps, curled up against his chest as he held her close and threw murderous looks at disapproving passersby, making sure no one would disturb them. She finally managed to form a coherent sentence.

"I'll be alright. Just give me a minute."

His arms tightening around her were the only answer she needed and she stayed still in his embrace, not caring that this was the weakest she'd been in a year and a half and it was happening in the middle of the street. She'd thought nothing could surprise her anymore in her father's case, but this new piece of information was making her doubt everything she'd thought she knew. Because just like every single time she made any progress in this damn investigation, one answer brought with it a bigger question.

_What the hell had her father wanted with Gendry?_

* * *

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry, I know I've been very bad about updating this story. This chapter was a bit tricky, plus I've started working on a new AU, a crossover with Hunger Games that I'm probably never going to publish lol. **

**Rating's up for this chapter, I don't think it's quite M yet but, just to be on the safe side. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Do you want to come up?"

She shook her head. He frowned and reached out to make her look at him.

"Are you..."

"I'll be fine. I just... I think I'm going to go for a run."

He sighed and nodded, knowing better than to ask if he could join her this time.

"Call me if you need anything."

"I'll see you tonight."

He left and she drove home to get Nymeria. A run sounded like a great idea. It would help clear her head and tire her body enough that she might have a shot at falling asleep tonight. There was no way she was going to take that nap now, she was still too distraught after what she'd learned, but after a run and a few hours of dancing at the club, sleep would be a possibility.

She ran until she felt her muscles ache in protest, her lungs burn, her heartbeat speed up to the point of being deafening. She ran until she was too exhausted to form a coherent thought. She ran until she forgot her shame at the way she'd behaved earlier. There was no logical way to explain why this had torn through her carefully erected defenses when everything else seemed to bounce off her. She'd just collapsed, both literally and figuratively, and now she needed to pull herself together. Focusing on her next mission helped. One step at a time. Go home. Feed Nymeria. Shower. Get dressed. Drive. Call Gendry. Wait for him. Drive to the club. Park the car. Panic.

She poured her frustration out on the steering wheel, gripping it hard. Wordlessly, Gendry handed her the bottle of tequila she'd left on the floor under the passenger seat. She gratefully downed a few sips before giving it back to him. The alcohol burned down her throat, but eased some of the anxiety.

"You know it's going to be ok, right?"

"I guess."

"Whatever it was you were thinking of last time, just think about it again."

"Would it be weird if I told you I was thinking about my brothers?"

He laughed.

"Definitely. But as long as it works, who am I to judge?"

She managed a small smile.

"It just helped me forget what I was doing. And remember why I was doing it, if that makes any sense."

He nodded like he understood, and she thought he probably did. She left the car first and got in the club through the staff entrance to get ready. Only Osha and Shae were here, three dancers were enough on a Monday night. They greeted her with smiles and words of support. She had just enough time to change before it was time for the show. Seeing her hesitate in front of the door that led to the main room of the club, Osha opened it for her and shoved her through the door, slamming it shut behind her so that she had no way of going back. The last thing she heard from her was a laughing "Knock them dead!" Silently cursing her, Arya took advantage of the darkness to watch the room unnoticed for a few seconds. Five men were sitting around one of the elevated scenes, impatiently waiting for someone, her, to come to them. The rest of the club was empty apart from Loras, who gave her a small encouraging nod. Three of the clients were so old she felt a shiver of disgust creep up her spine at the idea of their hands slipping money in her underwear. She was seriously considering running away when a spotlight was turned on and blinded her. The music stopped, and the five men turned to look at her as Loras' voice came through the speakers.

"Gentlemen, a round of applause for the newest member of our staff, the lovely Cat! Come on, hun', don't be shy!"

The look she gave him could have killed him, but he just grinned, unaffected by her temporary hatred. When the whistles began, she realized that she had no choice but to go forward. She walked over to the men, plastering a fake smile on her lips. Just as she was about to reach the scene, the front door opened. She averted her gaze, not ready to face Gendry, but curiosity got the better of her and she turned her attention back to the spot where he had to be standing. Even from across the room, she saw his eyes darken when he saw her. She was suddenly very glad that even though she had thought that he would never see it, she had chosen this azure ensemble thinking of him. He knew why she'd selected this one, if the possessiveness in his gaze was any indication. It made her knees go weak and her heart pound faster.

She wouldn't be thinking about her brothers tonight.

* * *

"You raised the bar really high, but I'm up for the challenge," Osha said as she left through the door Arya had just come in.

Shae high-fived her with a "nice job", and Arya smiled her thanks.

"Come on, let's have a drink and celebrate."

Arya hesitated. She'd hoped she'd get to go home right after her shift. On the other hand, talking with Shae seemed like a good idea, maybe she could tell her something useful about the owner of the strip-club. She needed to warn Gendry though, she didn't know how long she would be and she didn't want him to spend half the night here for no good reason.

"Sure. Just let me warn my roommate first or she'll probably call the cops."

Shae left to go to the bar and Arya went to retrieve her cell phone from her bag. She clicked on the icon signaling a new text message, noting it had arrived some time during her first dance.

From: Gendry W.

_Are you trying to kill me?!_

A strange sound escaped from her throat and her hand flew to her mouth to cover her embarrassment. No way. She had not just _giggled_.

Damn it.

She was turning into Sansa.

Shaking her head, unable to stop smiling, she quickly typed her reply.

_Told you you shouldn't come. I'm gonna stay a while. Go home, I'll catch a cab later. _

_I'll wait._

_No need._

_I'll. Wait._

She rolled her eyes and turned her phone off. Arguing with the damn Bull would be a waste of time. She quickly put on her skirt – slightly longer than the first one – and her deep green top and she joined Shae at the bar. The other dancer hadn't bothered putting clothes on, and though she was just sitting there doing nothing, the customers stole glances her way every once in a while, the white lace against her tanned skin inevitably catching their eye. She handed her a shot and raised her own glass in salute.

"To your successful career as a stripper!"

She drank her shot in one gulp and Arya followed suit, trying hard to ignore Gendry, who was standing a few feet away from them. Not hard enough, apparently, because Shae caught her and smiled.

"Handsome. He couldn't keep his eyes off you while you were dancing."

"I noticed."

Hell, she'd had a hard time keeping her eyes off him. And he was fully dressed.

"You know, Littlefinger doesn't have anything against his dancers dating clients, as long as it doesn't create problems."

Arya jumped on the opportunity.

"What kind of boss is he?"

"Littlefinger? He's fair. I've worked for worse. As long as you do your job, he leaves you alone. If you do really well, you can even get promoted."

"Really?"

"You seem surprised."

"I hear he can be..."

She trailed off as if searching for the right word, when in fact she wanted to let Shae complete her sentence, just to see what she was going to say.

"Dangerous?" She nodded and Shae confirmed, "Let's say it's better to be his friend."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, I'm gonna like this job. Did you see how much money I made?"

Shae laughed.

"That blond guy probably spent two weeks' rent on you." She raised the glass Loras had just filled up again and added, "To suckers."

Arya discreetly leaned over the bar and emptied her shot in the sink while Loras and Shae were watching Osha attempt a particularly elaborate move. She had no intention of getting wasted. Gendry caught her eye and winked at her. She smiled back, shook her head in amusement, and went back to her conversation.

It was well past midnight when her coworkers let her leave with the promise that she'd go out with them on Tuesday after work. Gendry left as she was saying her goodbyes, and she found him in the car. As soon as she sat down, she changed the seat's position to lie down and let her head fall back with a relieved sigh. She heard her friend chuckle next to her.

"How many of those shots did you manage to dodge?"

"Not enough," she admitted.

Given her size, it didn't take much alcohol for her to go straight from tipsy to fully drunk. She wasn't so intoxicated that she'd be sick in the morning, but she was not sober either. She'd felt like she had to socialize if she wanted to blend in and take advantage of it to get information, but more importantly, she'd been having fun. Osha and Shae were definitely girls she could have befriended under different circumstances, and though Loras was a bit too exuberant for her taste, he was fun too. After today's bombshell, it had felt good to let go, if only a little. She'd only allowed herself to do so because she'd felt Gendry's constant presence and she'd known he would take matters in his own hands had anything gone wrong.

She groaned when she heard her phone ring. She knew she shouldn't have turned it back on. Still, it could be important, so she shuffled around in her bag until she found it. Jon. Some of her irritation left her as Gendry started driving, and she answered.

"If it's not a matter of life and death, please call me back tomorrow."

"_Is my little sister _drunk_?"_

His voice sounded both surprised and amused. She didn't feel like explaining in details, especially since he still didn't know she was going undercover as a stripper, so she went with the easy answer.

"Yes. Did you need anything?"

"_Just making sure you're ok. I haven't heard from you in..."_

"Four days."

He must have heard the reproach in her voice, because he instantly turned defensive.

"_Hey, you promised to keep me in the loop."_

"I know. Sorry, it's just been crazy. Tell you what, I'll call you tomorrow and bring you up to date."

"_Can't tomorrow."_

She smiled. There was only one reason her brother would be too busy to talk to her.

"How's Ygritte?"

"_How's Gendry?"_

"Shut up."

"_You first."_

"Very mature."

"_Very mature yourself." _They laughed, and Arya ended up asking him when she could call him._ "How about Wednesday? Around 11 p.m., San Diego time."_

"You got it. Have fun tomorrow."

"_I will. Don't forget to drink some water."_

"Yes sir!"

She hung up and let her head fall back against the headrest.

"Jon?" Gendry guessed.

"Yep. He's gonna be so mad when I tell him about this job."

"Really? You mean your big brother won't approve of you dancing half-naked in a room full of drunken men?"

She punched his arm in punishment for the sarcasm and noted they were in her parking lot. She pulled the seat back up to a sitting position as he killed the engine and handed her her keys. She took the car key out of the key ring and handed it back to him.

"Here, keep my car. I'm not driving anywhere tonight. It'll save you the taxi course. You can come pick me up tomorrow night."

"Are you sure you won't need it tomorrow?"

"Just boring computer stuff, I'll be stuck in my office all day. I can walk there."

"Ok, thanks."

"Thank _you_."

He didn't drive off until he was sure she was safely inside. She shook her head as she closed the door. She needed to do something about the overprotectiveness of the men in her life. She found it in her to take her make-up off and shower, and then she slept for eight straight hours.

* * *

She hadn't exactly been lying, her day had been boring. She was finally done tracking down all the women in San Diego who fit her criteria: name Anna, age between 43 and 50, working as a nurse or some sort of medical profession, who'd been around 25 years ago. She'd then spent two hours trying to get in touch with those seven women. Only one had answered on the first try, and she'd quickly deduced she wasn't the one she was looking for. She'd left messages to the six other women, asking them to call her back as soon as possible. If that didn't work, she'd try another call, and if she still didn't hear from some of them, she'd go directly to their places.

Gendry was here at 6 sharp. She climbed in the car and began "I've been thinking..."

"That can't be good."

"Shut up, stupid. Isn't it gonna look suspicious that this guy they've never seen before is suddenly there every night, right after the new girl was hired?"

"I don't think so. I heard what that girl told you about me yesterday. Shae, right?" At her nod, he continued, "They'll think I'm here to see you, no doubt about it, but they won't suspect we already know each other."

"It makes you look creepy, coming to a strip-club to stalk one of the dancers."

He laughed at that.

"What they think of me is the least of my concerns."

"Yet it could be a problem. They could end up throwing you out."

He conceded the point with a curt nod, took a right turn, and half-asked, half-stated, "I assume you have a plan?"

"You should make a move on me." Caught off guard, he turned towards her so sharply that the car swerved on the road. She chuckled at his reaction as he turned his attention back to his driving. "I just think it'll look slightly less strange if we seem to be hitting it off. Osha told me Littlefinger isn't supposed to come in this week, which means we need to keep up with the deception a while longer. He'll probably come see me some time next week though, he's in the habit of talking to new girls after a week or so to make sure everything's ok."

"So until then, you want me to... What? Court you?"

"That's the general idea. Come talk to me tonight after my shift."

"If you insist."

"I do. That way you might even be able to get me out of the after party."

"I thought you'd want to go." She made a face, but since he was keeping his eyes trained on the road, he didn't see it. However, her silence was enough for him to realize something was wrong and he asked, "What is it?"

"I... Well I like them. Especially Shae and Osha. I don't like feeling like I'm using them. I think it'd be best if I didn't spend too much time with them, I'm afraid I'll slip up or something. And I don't want them to start seeing me as a friend only to feel betrayed when I suddenly disappear."

"Or you could, you know, let them in and not expect the worst."

"In my experience, the worst is usually what happens."

"I feel like I should be offended."

"You should," she agreed with a laugh as he parked the car not too far from the club's back door.

It was amazing how fast something that had terrified her just a few days ago had turned into a routine. Get in, greet the girls, get changed, ignore the anxiety, get on stage, start dancing, avoid Gendry's gaze, teasingly but firmly slap a too daring hand away, get off stage to go put the bills somewhere safe, get back on stage... and gasp when Shae joined her. The dark haired beauty gave her a wink as she started to dance around the pole with her, and Arya smiled when she realized three of the customers where almost drooling at the sight of two half-naked women standing so close to each other. She shook her head in amusement and played along for a few minutes, until the song ended, along with her shift. She left Shae alone on stage and walked to the dressing room a good deal wealthier than when she'd walked out. It seemed this twosome thing paid well. Osha greeted her with a smile.

"She didn't warn you she was going to do that, did she? She did the same thing with me when I started working here. They always go crazy, it's like their fantasy come true. You know, if you forget the money and the fact that they're not alone with us."

Arya laughed as she put her clothes back on. She was beginning to understand why Osha and Shae liked this so much. She'd never feel comfortable enough to ever consider doing this for real, but for someone who loved dancing, didn't mind walking around in their underwear, and managed to find a safe enough place, it could probably be a lot of fun.

"You're up for a drink?" she asked, since she knew she couldn't bolt out of the after-party without a good reason yet.

"Sure. Hey, did you see Hot Guy?"

For a brief moment, she wondered if she should pretend that she didn't know who she was talking about, just to be safe, but as she thought about the rest of the clientele, she decided it would be pretty safe to admit there was only one hot guy here tonight.

"Yeah. What's up with him?"

"Don't know, never saw him before yesterday. I'd call dibs, but the way he keeps looking at you, I don't think I'd stand a chance."

Arya tried to fight down her blush. She mustn't have been very successful, because Osha laughed as they walked to the bar.

"You're gonna have to get used to it, girl. You're hot."

She'd never get used to it, not after having been called Arya Horseface throughout her childhood and her early teenage years, but all she said was "I'll try."

"Speaking of Hot Guy," Osha muttered when she noticed Gendry walking up to them.

"Hi, can I buy you a drink?"

She gave him a 'Really? That's your pick-up line?' look and he shrugged discreetly. Before she could reply, Osha pushed her towards him and answered for her.

"Yes, you can. If you need me, I'll be over there wallowing in self-pity."

She blew Arya a kiss and went to the other side of the bar, ignoring their bemused looks. Before they had time to react, Loras placed two pints in front of them.

"This round's on the house. And for the record, this corner back there is the most intimate spot in the whole place."

Arya rolled her eyes but sent him a small smile. Then she grabbed her beer in one hand, Gendry's arm in the other and she dragged him toward the spot the bartender had pointed out. The corner booth was almost completely dark and could hardly be seen from the rest of the room. She slumped down on it and put her beer on the table in front of her. Gendry did the same, still a bit dazed from the way the last few minutes had gone.

"Can you imagine what I'd have to go through if you _hadn't_ made a move?"

"I'd rather not. What's with the duo?"

She felt her cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink.

"Shae's idea of a welcoming party. Seems the clients love it."

"No kidding. That was fucking hot."

She jerked her head up, shocked at hearing him be so direct about it. Then she took a sip of beer and nodded.

"Yeah, she's a good dancer."

He frowned.

"Are you trying to be modest?"

"What? No, I... I'm not the most self-confident person when it comes to... Well, to anything but wits, really."

"Even after yesterday?"

She shrugged. A lifetime of being compared to her perfect sister had made it clear that she wasn't that desirable. Four or five years ago, she'd managed to come to terms with the fact that she wasn't ugly per say, but she also had no delusions as to how attractive she really was, and it wasn't that much.

"It's a strip-club. Dim lights, sexy tunes and see-through bras. With these three ingredients, anyone can look good. Not to mention the audience is drunk."

"I'm not."

She shrugged again, sure the topic was closed. But then he mumbled "This won't do" and before she could ask what he meant, his hand was grabbing her neck and pulling her to him, and he crushed his lips to hers. She was so surprised that she tried to pull away to ask him what the hell he was doing, but he kept her firmly against him, his other arm sneaking around her waist to bring her closer, and she stopped struggling after a second. One last hesitation and she opened for him, groaning as soon as she felt his tongue start to explore her mouth. When warm fingers slipped under her top to stroke her lower back, something snapped inside of her, all the attraction she'd tried to suppress over the last few days suddenly bubbling up to the surface. She pressed her body closer to his, ended up straddling him, and buried one hand in his hair, trying to deepen the kiss. He was just as aggressive as she was, and she marveled at the growl she felt more than she heard when she rocked her body against his and came in contact with his growing arousal through the layers of clothing. It felt so good that she did it again, and again, until he jerked his head away and tried to still her movements with one hand on her hip.

"Stop."

She'd never been one to follow orders, especially when disobeying felt this amazing. She rubbed against him again, feeling the pressure build low in her stomach.

"Fuck! Arya, stop or I'm going to fuck you right here."

She really didn't know why he made it sound so bad. In fact, it sounded like the best idea ever. She tried to capture his mouth again, but just before their lips met, he reminded her, "Arya, we're still at the strip-club."

She froze. Looked around. Realized he was right. Felt herself turn red with embarrassment.

"Shit."

She tried to stumble away from him, but his arm was still wrapped around her. In this position, she was eye-level with him. She met his gaze, hers confused, his still so dark with lust that she was tempted to just forget where they were again. He gave her a quick kiss and pulled away, his hand still buried in her hair, making sure she had no other choice but to look at him as he talked, his voice deeper than usual.

"My point is I've wanted to do that from the moment I met you, you certainly don't need dim lights, sexy tunes, or see-through bras to look _good_. You're downright sexy, and as soon as you're ok with it, I'm going to show you just how much I want you. Until then, do me a favor and just accept the fact that you're the most desirable woman I know."

What was she supposed to say to that? 'Thank you?' 'Take me now?' 'How many women do you know?' 'Are you sure you're not drunk?' No, he wouldn't like those last ones. But she had half a mind to try the second one just to see how he'd react. Instead, she rested her forehead against his shoulder, hiding for a little while he held her close and pressed light kisses against her neck and shoulder, making her shiver in delight. This was probably meant as a soothing gesture rather than foreplay, but her whole body was still shaking with barely contained need and each touch of his lips sent a new jolt of arousal between her legs. She sighed in pure pleasure.

"What the hell are you doing to me?"

She felt his laugh build deep within his chest, roll all the way up his throat, fall from his lips and caress her skin. It was deep with desire, raw with need, alight with amusement. It was the sexiest thing she had ever heard.

"What am _I_ doing to _you_? I can't even walk right now."

She smiled a little shakily and reluctantly disentangled herself from his embrace, sitting down next to him and trying to get her frantic heart under control.

"Point taken."

"Good. Now try to look like I'm saying something interesting while I picture the most disgusting things I can think of."

"See Loras, the bartender?"

"Yes?"

"He has a Playboy Bunny costume. Imagine Yoren in it."

He made a gagging noise and commented "Ok that's a start."

She kept coming up with mental pictures, each more disgusting than the last, long after it wasn't necessary anymore. The exercise was helping her focus on something less unsettling than the way she'd just lost control in a very public place, when she'd always prided herself on her level-headedness. She had no idea how in just a few seconds, a simple kiss had turned into something so wild it could have gotten them arrested, she attributed it all to the man quietly laughing next to her. The way he'd touched her, the way he'd made her feel... There had been more pleasure in this brief embrace than in all her previous and admittedly limited sexual encounters put together. She'd stopped trying after a few times, figuring either people made a big deal out of sex when it really wasn't, or she just wasn't passionate enough to appreciate it for what it was. Looked like it was time to reconsider her theories.

* * *

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone!**

**I know most of you want to see more Arya/Gendry scenes, especially after this last chapter, and I really wanted to sneak one in, but it just didn't happen this way, sorry. This had to be done. I'm trying hard to have a coherent plot in this story, which means that every once in a while, something other than flirting and making out has to actually happen :-)**

**Again, thanks for all the awesome reviews.**

**Also, I got a comment a few chapters ago about how this fic reminded someone of Veronica Mars. Yes, it's intentional. I'm a huge fan, and if you reread the very first scene, you'll notice it's basically a rip-off of VM's first scene in the pilot. Though I tried to stray from it afterwards because I don't want to simply steal everything from this show, it's normal if you get that VM vibe every once in a while.**

**Hope everyone had a great Christmas! :-D**

* * *

Six. She'd managed to clear six of the seven Anna she'd identified. Which meant that either the last one was the one she was looking for, or Johanna Waters' ex-roommate didn't live around here anymore. Or her name hadn't really been Anna. Or the age was wrong. Or she hadn't worked in one of the establishments Arya had checked. Ok, so the number of alternatives was higher than she liked. There was still a good chance that Anna Delario was the right Anna. Good enough that Arya was now pounding on the door of her apartment, having decided that messages and emails weren't working quickly enough. When no one opened the door after several minutes, Arya considered her next course of action. She'd dug up Anna's work schedule, and she knew that she wasn't supposed to be at the hospital right now. She worked the night shift this week, which meant she started at midnight. Maybe she'd just gone grocery shopping, or maybe she had a yoga class or something. Either way, it could mean she would be home soon, and since it was 3 p.m., Arya could afford to wait a while before she had to go to the strip-club. Plus, Anna Delario's flat wasn't far from Gendry's, if she managed to talk to her in the afternoon, she could go directly to his place afterwards and tell him everything. Either the woman would give her something to work with and she'd finally have something tangible enough to discuss it with Gendry, or her best and only lead would prove to be another dead end and she'd have to tell him she didn't think anyone could find his father.

She prayed for the first option.

She went back to her car, opened the passenger door for Nymeria, settled in the driver's seat, and got ready to wait.

She didn't have to wait long. After just a couple of minutes, the door to the building opened. Arya would have dismissed it since she was looking for someone coming in, not out, but the flash of dark colors on this sunny day caught her eye and she looked closer, out of curiosity. And then closer, out of disbelief. And then closer, out of growing anger.

The woman who was apparently trying to look inconspicuous (and failing big time) was Anna Delario.

She had been home.

Arya had given her every opportunity to make her presence known. She'd announced her name, pounded for a good five minutes, waited, pounded again. If the woman was home, there was no way she hadn't heard her.

So why hadn't she opened the damn door?

This screamed of someone who had something to hide.

Until now, Arya had treated this investigation like a simple enough case. Well, no, it was a hard case because she didn't have much to go on, but since the information she was looking for wasn't exactly sensitive, she'd based her research on the principle that the people she'd talk to wouldn't try to lie or conceal anything.

This had just changed.

The thought that Anna's behavior didn't have anything to do with her investigation crossed her mind, but the coincidence was just too weird to disregard. Given the messages she'd left, the woman had to know who Arya was and why she wanted to talk to her, seeing her practically run away from her flat right after she'd tried to talk to her in person was about as suspicious as it could get.

Arya's astonishment and distraction meant that the woman had disappeared from sight quite easily, she wouldn't be able to follow her now, but she knew when she would leave home for work tonight, tailing her then would be easy. It would also be relatively useless since she already knew where she would be going, but it would give her a sense of the woman and her habits and make it easier for next time.

"What do you think, Nymeria? Ready to lose sleep and get bored out of your mind for the next few days?"

Her bark was a resolute 'yes!'

* * *

She managed to leave the club at 10 p.m., even if for some reason, Wednesday nights seemed a little busier than Mondays and Tuesdays. The girls and Loras let her leave without complaining about her lack of social skills when she told them she had a date with Hot Guy. She'd known looking like she'd started dating a client would come in handy at some point, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon.

She felt a little bad about the lie, but not as bad as she'd felt when she'd sent a text to Gendry earlier today. Because she had to leave the club early if she wanted to make it back to her place to get Nymeria and then to Anna Delario's flat in time to start following her, and because she didn't want him to know what she was up to, she'd told him that her work schedule had changed and that she wasn't working tonight, so she would catch an early night for once and he could stay home.

Not only had it felt wrong to lie to him now that he knew her deepest secrets, she was a bit worried he'd think she was pulling away because of what had happened between them. Which she was absolutely _not_.

But if she wanted to get answers, she couldn't worry about this right now, so she pushed back the guilt and nervousness to focus on the matter at hand, namely swearing because she'd forgotten to charge her camera. Oh, well, this was more of a reconnaissance mission anyway, she doubted she'd see anything worth taking a picture of. She left her useless camera at home, ushered Nymeria inside the car, and drove to Anna's street, parking a good distance away from her building's entrance. It was 10.48. She'd call Jon in a few minutes, and as soon as she saw her target leave the building, she'd hung up and start following her.

Things had been going so well lately that she'd nearly forgotten life had a tendency to laugh in the face of people who tried to make plans.

It all happened in a flash.

She'd started impatiently fidgeting with her keys when the car door was torn open and she felt an iron grip on her left forearm. She was yanked away from her seat, the door slammed shut, and she was pushed against her car as a gloved hand closed around her throat. For a second, all she could see was darkness, but she fought through the initial pain and made herself open her eyes to see her attacker. Masked. Of course.

She could vaguely hear Nymeria's muffled barks, but locked in the car, her dog wouldn't be much help. Arya winced when she heard her throw herself against the window, desperately trying to get to her and most certainly hurting herself in the process. Then the knowledge that she would end up dead if she didn't react shook her out of her strangely detached trance, and she finally started struggling. She only succeeded in angering the guy enough that he back-slapped her, and she felt something sticky run down her chin. She tasted blood. She normally would have made a face at the taste, but at least it meant she was still alive. For now.

The lack of oxygen was going to become a real problem in a couple of seconds.

Her next reflex was to extend her arms to try and reach the guy's face. If she could just push a thumb through his eye socket, he'd have to let her go. But his arms were longer than hers and she couldn't reach far enough. He was so strong that her feet were barely touching the ground, his hand on her throat the only thing that was keeping her upright.

Only then did she realize the fool had left her legs free. She kicked, too far gone to care where her foot landed. There was a grunt as the hit his thigh, but still the hold he had on her throat didn't break. She kicked harder, trying to aim better. It finally did the trick. His grip loosened enough for her to squeeze her own fingers between his and her throat, and as soon as she got a good grip on his forefinger, she twisted hard, pulling his hand away from her in the process. She heard a sickening cracking noise, and he completely let go of her at last, the curse that fell from his lips telling her what she already knew: she'd just broken his finger.

The victory was bittersweet as she instantly fell without his support. Gasping for breath, she got back to her feet, but she'd lost a few precious seconds and her vision was still blurry. Her hand found her throat, trying to rub the excruciating pain away, but it was no use and she needed to focus on her aggressor anyway.

She briefly considered trying to run away, but she was still unsteady on her legs and she wouldn't go far before he caught up with her. Her only option was to fight and it wasn't much of an option given that he was a good foot taller and at least 80 pounds heavier than her. She thought about trying to get back inside her car and driving away, but she'd lost her keys during his first assault. Besides, he was too close, she wouldn't even get the door halfway open before he was on her again.

She tried to block the sounds Nymeria was making to focus on her next move... Nymeria! If she could open the door just wide enough for her dog to...

Before she could complete that thought, the man was on her again. And everything Syrio had taught her came back to her all at once. The guy didn't even have the time to react: quick as a snake, she threw the heel of her hand towards his nose and he had to take a step back, clutching his nose with his hurt hand. Sadly for her, he was obviously used to pain and very good at what he did, for it didn't even slow him down enough for her to grab the damn handle and free Nymeria. He used his left hand to try and punch her. She dodged and his momentum brought him closer to the car, so she had to go around him to avoid being crushed by his weight. This meant he was now closer to the car than she was and all hope of counting on Nymeria for help fell away. Her dog seemed to understand that too because her barks were suddenly more desperate and she kicked harder against the car window. Arya tried to will her to stop before she hurt herself, but it seemed her protectiveness towards her was stronger than her survival instinct.

Her attacker turned back to face her. She'd just been thinking about running away again now that she felt a bit stronger, but what she saw stopped her before she even took the first step.

A gun.

He had a gun.

With a silencer.

Fuck.

Why hadn't he used it earlier?

She realized he hadn't wanted to risk the bullet being identified by the cops exactly at the same time she realized it was irrelevant. She had to do something. As in, right now.

Instead of following her first instinct, which had been to go for the weapon in his left hand and would have left her exposed to his right hand, she threw her foot in his stomach. He mustn't have expected this move. Caught off guard, he bent down against the pain, and only then did she try to take the weapon away from him. Her fingers closed around the barrel and she pulled, but the man pulled the other way. She managed not to release her hold on the weapon, her arm and the rest of her body following the forward movement. In the struggle, her assailant pulled the trigger. She heard a dull sound, instantly followed by a sort of metallic noise. She had no idea what the bullet had hit, but it wasn't her.

Her relief was short-lived. The guy managed to get the gun away from her and aim. She tackled him before he could pull the trigger again, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She stood back up faster than he did, but just as she was regaining her balance, he swept her legs from under her and she went crashing to the ground. Her head hit the pavement hard and she groaned. Panic seized her as she realized that he was getting back up to his feet and aiming, but there was nothing she could do. The shock had left her too weak to move, and she could only watch as he raised his weapon.

The last things she heard were a shattering sound and a scream.

* * *

**TBC...**

**I'll try not to make you wait too long for the next chapter after this! We'll get our first (and probably only) Gendry POV since Arya's out at the moment…**

**I always have trouble writing action scenes, even in my own language, hope it was readable! **


	10. Chapter 10

**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!**

**Hope you enjoyed your holidays.**

**Once again, thanks to everyone who's still reading this :) As promised, here's the new chapter.**

**I have absolutely no control left over the characters. All I can do is throw things at them and see how they react. But that's fun too :D**

* * *

At first he ignored it. The scratching noise at his door was probably nothing interesting, and after his long day, he wanted nothing more than to relax and forget about the rest of the world for a while. But then the sound was followed by a powerful bark, and he was on his feet before his brain had fully processed the information.

The sight that greeted him when he opened his door left him speechless.

Nymeria's head was covered in cuts and blood, her look was feral, her teeth bared, her body so tense she seemed ready to attack any second. Yet it didn't occur to him to be scared. He instantly crouched down in front of her and tried to take her head in his hands to get a better look at her wounds, but she slipped out of his grip and jumped back in the hallway, turning her back to him, looking at him expectantly over her shoulder. Only then did he notice that Arya wasn't with her. Once again, his body reacted before his mind did. He'd grabbed his keys, slammed the door shut, and was running behind Nymeria before the thought took form in his mind.

_What the hell?_

He didn't realize he was barefoot until he felt the pavement, still warm from the heat of the day, under the sole of his feet, but he didn't even think about going back to his apartment to get his shoes. Nymeria was hurt and Arya was not with her. That meant Arya was hurt too. Or worse. Nothing mattered but the growing panic that was threatening to crush his chest.

He was running as fast as he could, but he could still feel the dog's impatience as she had to stop and wait for him a few times.

He'd have apologized for his slowness, but what little oxygen he managed to get into his lungs through the breathtaking fear, he used to fuel his muscles and run faster.

It felt like a year before he finally saw the outline of Arya's car, though it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Nymeria disappeared behind it and he ran after her.

What he saw then stopped him dead in his tracks. She was on the ground. She was not moving. Her eyes were closed. And there was a pool of blood at her feet.

"Arya!"

Shaking his head to try and get rid of the blinding horror, he made his feet move again and he fell to his knees beside her. He wanted nothing more than to shake her until she woke up, but he managed to stay rational and he placed two fingers against her throat.

To say he was relieved to find a pulse would have been the understatement of the century.

A single sob fought its way to his throat, but he instantly pulled himself together. He would _not_ break down until she was out of danger.

He couldn't find any wounds apart from the cut on her temple where she must have hit the pavement, which meant that the blood at her feet was probably not hers.

Standing up, he went to the car, noticed the shattered window on the driver's side, opened the back door to find Arya's handbag where she always dropped it carelessly behind her seat and found her cell phone. In his haste, he hadn't thought about taking his when he'd left his flat.

As soon as the phone was in his hand, Nymeria growled. He ignored her in favor of typing 911, but before he could press the call icon, she attacked, her teeth closing around his forearm, not hard enough to do any lasting damage, but definitely hard enough to inflict pain and pierce the skin. The phone slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground, thankfully still in one piece.

"Damn it! Nymeria, I have to call for help!" he exclaimed as he bent down to retrieve the small object from the pavement and used his shirt to wipe his wounded arm clean.

Her bark was a clear warning, and he realized that if he tried again, she'd bite him again. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, his fear mingling with anger at the dog's irrational attitude.

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

In answer to his question, she turned towards Arya, and then back to him. He sighed and shook his head in dismay. He didn't have much choice. He didn't think Nymeria would really harm him, but if he didn't do what she wanted him to, she could easily pin him down to the ground and only let him go once he was more willing to do her bidding. He couldn't afford to waste any time when Arya was injured and he didn't even know how badly. He put the phone back in the bag, throwing a pointed look at the dog, who signaled her approval with a quick nudge to his leg.

Then he climbed in the driver's seat, checking to see if the key was in the ignition. No, of course not. It would have been too easy. He quickly looked around, but it was nowhere to be found. For all he knew, whoever had done this to Arya had taken it. Trying to locate it would be another waste of time. Sighing, he went back to his friend and picked her up in his arms. He stood up, Arya safely tucked against his chest, and he saw that Nymeria had taken the handbag in her mouth. He gave her a barely there smile and began to walk. If he was not mistaken, there was a hospital not too far from here.

He'd only taken two steps in that direction when Nymeria jumped in front of him, let the bag fall to the ground, and bared her teeth at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on! She needs medical attention! I'm trying to help here."

He tried to walk past her. She growled threateningly, her ears flattening against her skull, her body tensing as if ready to pounce.

"Nymeria, please..."

She was unyielding. Gendry sighed. He didn't understand why she hadn't wanted him to call for help or why she was trying to prevent him from bringing her mistress to the hospital, but the fact that Nymeria was no ordinary dog hadn't escaped his notice and he had to trust that she knew what she was doing. It wasn't like he had a choice anyway. He hesitantly turned away and started walking back the way he'd come. She dropped the menacing attitude, picked up the bag in her mouth, and started trotting happily next to him. After a few steps, he tried to take a wrong turn, just to see what she'd do. She was in front of him instantly, blocking the way. Resigned, he shook his head, and he followed her back to his flat.

* * *

If the damn thing kept ringing, he was going to throw it out the window. She wouldn't like that, so instead he found the phone in her bag with the intention of turning it off. But the caller ID caught his attention.

Jon.

The 2 messages and 12 missed calls were all from him as well. He pressed the answer button. Arya would probably not like that either, but her brother must be worried sick if he'd called so many times in so little time.

"Hello?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line, the caller obviously not having expected to hear an unfamiliar voice.

"_Who are you?"_

"Jon?" he checked instead of answering the question.

"_Who the hell are you and why are you answering my sister's phone?"_

"Arya's..."

His hesitation only lasted for a second, but it was enough for the voice to go from furious to fearful.

"_What's wrong? What happened?"_

"She's ok," he said hurriedly. "Well, she... She was attacked, but she's ok now. She's sleeping. I think she bumped her head on the pavement, but I'm not sure what happened. Nymeria led me to her, but I got there too late to see anything."

"_Damn it Arya! Bran was right. I told her to be careful."_

Gendry sighed. He knew the reproach wasn't addressed to him, but he answered anyway.

"So did I."

"_You're Gendry." _Not a question. He kept silent._ "Where is she?"_

"At my place. Her dog wouldn't let me bring her to the hospital."

"_That's weird. She didn't tell you what happened?"_

"Nymeria? I know she's smart, but..."

"_Not Nymeria. Arya."_

"Oh. Sorry. No, she hasn't woken up since I found her."

"_When was that?"_

1 hour, 42 minutes and 17 seconds ago. But who was counting?

"About 2 hours ago."

"_What? How do you know she doesn't have a concussion or..."_

"I don't," he answered honestly. "But every time I try to pick up the phone to call a doctor, Nymeria looks like she wants to bite my hand off."

"_What the hell is wrong with that dog?"_

"Beats me."

There was nothing but silence for a minute as they both tried, and failed, to come up with an explanation as to why Nymeria was behaving this way. After a while, Jon sighed.

"_Ok, we have to trust her. She wouldn't endanger Arya's life."_

"Let's hope so. Look, if I know your sister, the pavement's probably in a worse shape than she is right now."

He relaxed when he heard the chuckle coming from the other end of the phone.

"_You're right."_

Gendry hesitated. He wasn't sure he should say what was on his mind, this man was a stranger to him, but if he was in any way like his sister, there was a chance he would understand the implications. He took a deep breath.

"Jon... Your sister lied to me."

Silence again. The voice was guarded when he spoke again.

"_About what?"_

"She was supposed to be home tonight. Said she was going to have an early night. The next thing I know, I find her unconscious in an alley, miles from her place. Believe me, if I'd known..."

"_Are you beating yourself up about this, or are you angry with _her_?"_

He gave a humorless chuckle. It seemed Jon was a perceptive guy who knew exactly what kind of feelings his sister brought out in people.

"Both."

"_That's Arya for you. Listen, don't you dare feel responsible for something she did, or she'll kick your ass. Arya does whatever Arya wants to do, as I'm sure you're aware. Our father was the only one who ever..."_

His voice trailed off as he realized what he'd been about to say. Gendry smiled sadly.

"She told me about him."

"_Oh. Good. I guess."_

"I won't let anything happen to her."

He winced at his own words, wondering if he'd said too much, if he was out of line, if Jon would tell him to mind his own business. This was how Arya would have reacted. But when her brother spoke again, Gendry could hear the smile in his voice. It was faint, but it was there.

"_She'll kill you if I ever tell her you said that."_

"I'm pretty sure Nymeria's on my side on this. I'm safe."

"_True. Do you know if she made any progress in her investigation?"_

"Yeah, she..."

He stopped talking. From the way Arya had talked about Jon, Gendry knew that she wasn't trying to hide anything from her brother, but it wasn't his place to tell him about the strip club, about Littlefinger, or about the fact that he'd met Ned Stark. Actually, that last piece of information might be his to share, but he didn't think now was the right time. He was saved from an awkward refusal to talk when Jon finished his sentence for him.

"_... will tell me all about it when she wakes up. Have her call me as soon as she can."_

"I will."

"_Take care of her."_

Apparently, he didn't need to answer that, because when he tried, Jon had already hung up.

* * *

There was none of that fluttering eyelids thing you'd expect when waking up from a blackout. No confusion or fear either. Her eyes flew open, and she knew at once where she was. The sheets were unfamiliar, but Nymeria was lying down next to her on the bed, keeping guard but not nervous, which meant that she trusted whoever it was Arya could hear showering in the next room. And there weren't that many people Nymeria trusted. Knowing this, she didn't panic or try to get up. She stayed where she was, slowly bringing a hand to her head to try and feel her wound. Her fingers found bandage. Not professional work, but neatly tied and applying just enough pressure. She was sore all over, her throat was hurting and there was a dull ache in her head, but she couldn't complain. The way she saw it, she should be dead right now.

She tried to move her legs, winced at the pain that radiated through her left ankle. Taking a look at it, she noticed the redness and she sighed in partial relief. Most likely sprained, not broken. Again, could have been worse.

Feeling her move, Nymeria came closer to her and rested her head against her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around her dog and scratched her behind the ears, finding comfort in her presence. This was when she noticed the cuts all over her head and neck. Arya gasped.

"You broke the window, didn't you?"

There was no dried blood on her fur and the wounds had been cleaned. She felt her throat close up at the thought that he'd taken the time to do that. She fought down the tears that were threatening to spill, the terror of her near-death experience mingling with unspeakable gratitude and relief. The water stopped running, and a few moments later, Gendry emerged from the bathroom clad only in his underwear. Despite the circumstances, Arya smiled a little at the sight, idly thinking it was only fair that she finally saw him almost naked after he'd gotten to watch her dance at the strip-club.

"You're awake."

Her eyes travelled back up his chest to meet his. She nodded, watched him hesitate. After a beat, he went to the wardrobe first and put on some jeans and a t-shirt. Then he walked over to her and sat down in the chair next to the bed. He took her hand in his, stilling her movements. She hadn't realized she was fidgeting with the bandage on her head. She wasn't sure what to say, so she went with the first words that came to mind.

"You took care of Nymeria."

Her voice was raw and talking hurt. His lips twitched upward, but it didn't turn into a real smile. He handed her a glass of water that had been resting on the nightstand and she gratefully took a few sips before handing it back to him.

"You almost got killed, and that's your main concern?"

"Well, yeah. You're obviously well enough to walk around, so I'm not worried about you. That leaves her well-being as my next priority."

"What about yours?"

She shrugged.

"I'm alive. Thanks to you, I assume."

"Thanks to Nymeria," he corrected.

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me."

"I was attacked."

"I gathered as much."

"Why did you bring me here? I'm grateful, mind you, but why not the hospital?"

"Nymeria wouldn't let me."

Arya smiled and stroked Nymeria's fur.

"Good girl."

"You know why she..."

"Yeah. Hospital admissions can be traced and... Oh shit!"

She sat up so abruptly that Nymeria growled her disapproval. She fumbled with the sheets, trying to fight through the light-headedness to get out of bed. She let out a cry of pain when she put her weight on her injured ankle. Gendry was up and at her side in the blink of an eye, bringing one arm around her waist to support her. She was grateful, since the room had started spinning and it took a few seconds for the world to be set right again.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We have to get out of here."

"Why?"

She found her shoes at the foot of the bed and sat down to put them on while Nymeria paced back on forth in front of them, rendered nervous by her mistress' obvious distress. It was weird that her dog had known the hospital was a bad idea but had felt this place was safe enough.

"No one was supposed to know where I was. The guy who attacked me... He must have followed me. He'd probably been following me for a few days, waiting for the right moment to strike. It means he saw us together. He has to know where you live. It's not safe here. Come on!"

Too stunned to protest, he followed her out of the bedroom and into the living room as she hopped on her good leg, keeping one hand against the wall for balance.

"How much cash do you have?"

She was glad to note he'd gone into crisis mode and he didn't waste any time asking questions. He went directly to his coffee table to retrieve his wallet.

"Fifty bucks."

"Take it. Leave the wallet here."

She was nearly out of the apartment when she changed her mind. Time was precious, but she had no idea how long they were going to be on the run, and with fifty dollars plus the twenty bucks tucked in her back pocket, they wouldn't get very far unless they planned ahead a little. She came back inside.

"Pack some clothes. I'll go raid your fridge and cupboards."

He obeyed at once, and in less than five minutes they'd gathered enough clothes and food to last for a few days. She also picked up her handbag but took her cell phone out of it and left it in the apartment, making sure Gendry left his behind as well. She didn't know if she was being paranoid or cautious, but better safe than sorry.

Once they were on their way down in the elevator, she noted regretfully "We can't even take my car. Too easy to trace."

"It's still back in that alley anyway."

"What?"

"I couldn't find your keys."

"You _carried_ me here?"

He shrugged.

"You're not that heavy."

She watched him incredulously. It was a good 3 miles from here to Anna Delario's place. She shook her amazement away. She'd have enough time to thank him later. Right now, she needed to focus on getting them somewhere safe.

"You'll need to call Jon back."

"You talked to my brother?"

"I answered your phone on his fifteenth try. Sorry."

"It's ok. At least he knows I'm safe. Sort of." They finally made it into the lobby. Glancing outside, Arya raised her eyebrows when she noticed it was still dark. "How long was I out?"

"About four hours. It's three in the morning."

Damn it. No chance to hop on a bus at this time of night. They'd have to call a cab. Not only was this going to be expensive, phone calls were too easily traceable. Seeming to understand her dilemma, Gendry nodded towards a corner.

"There's a nightclub three streets down. There's always a line of taxis waiting in front of it, even during the week. Can you make it?"

She nodded, but after a few steps it became obvious that it was going to take forever to reach the nightclub. Gendry took her handbag out of her hands and gave it to Nymeria, who held it in her mouth without a single protest. Then he shifted the bag of food from his right to his left shoulder so he could wrap his right arm around Arya, relieving some of the weight from her sprained ankle. With the bag of clothes in her right hand and him supporting her like that, they made it to the waiting taxis in a few minutes. They climbed in, and Arya gave the address of a 24/7 supermarket where she knew they'd find another cab. They were silent the whole way. Once they reached the supermarket, she paid the 18 dollars, and they waited until the taxi had disappeared from view before getting into another one. This time, she gave an address closer to their final destination. Barely half an hour had passed, and they'd already spent two thirds of their money. It was frustrating to think she had a pile of cash waiting for her at home from her two days of work at the strip-club and from Gendry's 5000 dollars and they couldn't go and get it for fear someone was keeping an eye on her place.

The taxi left, and they walked the hundred yards or so to the motel. She breathed in relief when she pushed the reception door open and saw who was behind the counter. If anyone else had been on shift tonight, her plan would have been worth nothing.

"Ar'! Need my help to bust one of my valued customers?"

She gave him an exhausted smile.

"Hey, Hot Pie. Not tonight, no. I need a room for a few nights. I can't pay yet."

That's when he took notice of the bandage and the way she was leaning into Gendry for support.

"What have you gotten yourself into?"

"It's complicated. Please. You know I'll pay you back as soon as I can. See this as an investment."

"Is this going to get me into trouble?"

"It might."

He frowned.

"Is this going to keep you out of trouble?"

"I hope so."

"Fine. But don't let that beast of yours scare off my customers. And I don't want to know who that guy is," he added with a wave of his hand to indicate Gendry.

"Deal."

He gave her a key. Before leaving the reception, she held out her hand.

"Give me the security tape."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Damn, girl, I really don't want to know what sort of trouble you're in."

"You really don't," she agreed as he gave her the tape, the only existing proof of their presence here.

A couple of minutes later, she was locking the door to their room and leaning back against it as Gendry sat on the bed and Nymeria settled on the worn couch. The words that fell from his lips were not unexpected.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Long wait for a short chapter, I know, sorry. The next one is almost done and the rating is definitely going to go up to M, I hope that'll help you forgive me ;)**

* * *

_We need to talk._

Funny how most people thought those four words never brought anything good with them. She welcomed them. He was right, they did need to talk. In truth, she would do most of the talking. She had a lot to tell him. He didn't know anything about her assault, and he probably wanted to know (more importantly, he _deserved_ to know) why she'd lied to him about where she was going to be on this fine Wednesday night. She had to come clean and she knew it. She gave him a tired smile.

"Let me go have a shower first, alright?"

He nodded and fished a black t-shirt out of the bag of clothes they'd brought with them. She took it and locked herself in the bathroom, taking a few minutes to examine her reflection in the mirror. She looked exhausted. The bandage covering her head was red where her wound had kept bleeding a little and she took it off. He'd done a fine job cleaning it up and covering it. The injury was superficial and the dizziness was almost gone, it was nothing to worry about. Sighing in relief, she took her clothes off and took a quick shower, washing the blood away from her hair and the fatigue away from her body. She smiled when she saw his t-shirt fell mid-tight and she put her underwear back on, mentally adding it to the list of things they would need to buy if they wanted to make it through the next few days.

When she came out of the bathroom, he was lying on his back on the bed, his arms crossed behind his head, but he sat up when he saw her. She pointed at her temple.

"When did you become M. Nightingale?"

"During one of my stays in a foster home."

It took a second for her to grasp his meaning.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Here."

He motioned for her to sit down next to him and took more bandages out of his bag. As he raised his hand to take care of her injury, she saw something she'd been too busy to notice before. Her fingers closed around his wrist and she brought it down to get a better look at his forearm.

"What's that?"

He seemed confused for a moment, then he saw what she was looking at and he shook his arm away from her grip, avoiding her eyes.

"Nothing."

Her gaze went from the unmistakable marks to Nymeria, from her dog to Gendry's face, and back to the angry red marks on his skin.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing, Arya."

"She _bit_ you!"

"She was trying to protect you."

"How the hell was hurting you supposed to protect me?"

"I was about to call 911. She was smarter than me, realized that whoever was after you would find you if I did."

"So she went and bit you?"

Her voice was incredulous, both because she couldn't believe Nymeria had attacked him, and because she couldn't believe how flippant he was being about it. He should have been furious, or at least scared, yet he didn't seem to act any different towards her dog, even knowing she wasn't as trustworthy as he'd thought she was. Gendry looked at her at last.

"No, she went and growled. When I didn't listen to her, she found a way to convince me."

"I... I'm sorry."

"Why? Because she saved your life? It's ok, Arya, really."

"It's really not. I'll talk to her."

"Whatever. You need to talk to _me_ first."

"Right."

He finished with her bandage. She bit down on her lower lip, trying to figure out where to start, and groaned at the sharp pain the gesture brought. He winced in sympathy.

"Yeah, don't do that. You took a hard hit. I tried putting some ice on it while you were unconscious, so the swelling shouldn't be too bad, but it's gonna be painful for another day or two."

"You're really good at this."

He shrugged and she realized that while her curiosity about what he'd had to go through to know the basics of first aid was genuine, she was really stalling. How was she supposed to start this conversation?

"Why did you lie to me?"

This actually helped. Answering questions was easier than coming up with a speech. Deciding there was no good way to say it, she admitted bluntly, "Because I've been trying to find your father."

His cringe was barely there, but she was studying him closely and she caught it. Her guilt tried to break out to the surface, but she didn't let it. If she did, she'd start apologizing and try to justify her actions, and now was not the time for that kind of talk. Now was the time for facts.

"I found out your mother had a roommate around the time she got pregnant. Her name was Anna Delario. I thought she might know something about your father, so I tracked her down. But when I went to her place in the afternoon, she ignored me. That's when I decided to follow her."

"Wait a minute. That's what you were doing tonight? You were attacked... trying to find my father?"

This was _not_ what she wanted him to think.

"No! Well, yes, I was following a lead about him, but this attack had nothing to do with it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I don't think I'm close enough to call for that kind of drastic measures yet, even if I was ready to admit that looking for your father is dangerous, which I'm not. With my father's case however, things are going well. I found several people he talked to just before he died and I'm getting closer to Littlefinger. You said it yourself, he's dangerous."

"You think he's behind this?"

"I have no way to be sure. But yes, it seems plausible."

Especially if the strange flicker she'd thought she'd seen in his eyes on the night of her audition had been recognition. If he had known who she was right from the start and had humored her to lure her into a false sense of security... well, if this was what had happened, she had to admit the guy was good. Which made him all the more dangerous. Gendry closed his eyes for a moment, as if trying to process what she'd just told him. It was a lot to take in. She kept silent, letting him decide where he wanted to take this conversation. It went against her every instinct, but she owed him as much. When he opened his eyes, he seemed completely focused, all uncertainty gone from his face. His voice matched the determination she could read in his features.

"Ok. So what happened tonight?"

He'd managed to surprise her yet again.

"You don't want to ask about my research?"

"About my father, you mean? Later. If I'm getting this right, we're stuck here for a few days, at least until your ankle's better. We'll have more than enough time to talk about this. And I'll have more than enough time to be mad at you. Right now, I want to know what we're up against."

"How very efficient of you." His annoyed glare told her that she was pushing it, and she sighed. "I was in my car, waiting for Delario to come out of her building, when this guy opened the door, grabbed me, and shut the door so Nymeria wouldn't be able to get out. We struggled, he got a gun out after a while..." She paused, remembering what she'd thought at that moment. "I think he wanted to avoid shooting it, he was mostly just trying to intimidate me with it. That's interesting. It could mean the gun's been used in the past and the police have it on files or something. This guy was definitely not a rookie, he knew what he was doing."

"How did you beat him?"

"I didn't. I put up a good fight, even broke his nose. Damn, Syrio will be proud of me if I ever get to tell him about this." She ignored his curious look and continued. "But after a while he got the upper hand. I fell, hit my head, saw he was pointing the gun at me, and that's all I remember."

"That's when Nymeria broke the window."

"Probably. I can't believe it. I know she's strong, but..."

"Did the gun go off?"

"What? Oh wait. Yes, it did! There was this sort of metallic noise…."

They reached the same conclusion together.

"The window."

Arya nodded.

"The bullet must have hit it and weakened it. That's how Nymeria managed to get through."

"It can't have been that weak. You should have seen her when she ended up on my doorstep. She was covered in blood. I almost didn't recognize her."

"I don't think it was all _her_ blood," Arya said quietly, looking at her dog, who was keeping an eye on them, the other on the door. "She must have scared him off before she came to find you. I wonder how bad he was injured."

"Badly, judging by how much blood was on the ground. I'm surprised she let him live at all."

"He must have run away. Once he was not a threat anymore, she decided it was more important to get some help... And that's where I'm supposed to thank you."

He gave her a small, tired smile.

"I guess it is."

"So thank you. And Gendry, I'm sorry, about lying to you. I was going to tell you after I talked to Anna, I just didn't want to get your hopes up. I..."

"When did you decide to do it?"

"Does it matter?"

He nodded.

"When I realized why you were looking for your siblings."

"So you've been hiding this from me for..."

"Far too long," she admitted.

He stood up, went to the bathroom, and slammed the door behind him so hard that she jumped a little, and Nymeria whimpered. She sighed. He had every right to be mad at her, she could even understand his need for privacy while he dealt with his fury, but she'd always been very confrontational, she tended to prefer good, liberating fights to the sensible thing, cooling down first and talking about it later.

Still, she'd decided they would do this on his terms, and he'd have to go out eventually. She settled against the mattress and closed her eyes. She'd set things in motion once she was rested.

* * *

She must have dozed off, because at some point she woke up. She stretched, her muscles still sore from the attack. When she turned her head, she noticed that Gendry was lying down next to her. At first she thought he was asleep, but then she saw his eyes were only half closed.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Are you ok?"

"Getting there."

"Are you angry?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'll calm down eventually. Just give me some time."

"Time, we have. Space, we lack."

"I don't want space. I'm not letting you out of my sight again." When she didn't answer, he turned his head to look at her. "You almost died last night, Arya," he reminded her.

"I know that."

"It was the first time in days we weren't together."

She finally understood what he was getting at. And suddenly, she was the one who was angry.

"First of all, I don't need you to protect me. I appreciate the concern, but if I wanted to deal with an overprotective brother right now, I'd call Jon. Secondly, I sincerely hope you're not feeling guilty about yesterday, because if you are, I _will_ strangle you. It was nobody's fault but this guy's, or maybe mine if you really want to blame someone else. And lastly, you're gonna have to let me out of your sight, because someone needs to go run some errands, and since it takes about 20 minutes for me to go from the bed to the bathroom right now, it's gonna have to be you."

"No."

She was so caught up in her righteous anger that the simple, quiet word caught her off guard. She could only blink and ask, "What?"

"I'm not leaving your side."

"But we need..."

"It's not open for discussion."

"Nymeria can protect m..."

"I said no, Arya."

"How are we going..."

"Whatever it is we need, you can ask that guy from the reception to get it. I. Am. Staying. Here."

She started muttering under her breath, making sure he heard a few key words, like Damn, Bull, Stupid and Hate. Even Nymeria snorted at that last one. Resigned, Arya looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table and sighed.

"Hot Pie's shift must be over, we'll have to wait until he comes back."

"Then we'll wait."

"Gendry..."

He closed his eyes and rolled to his side so she could only talk to his back. Fuming, she turned her back to him as well and fell asleep.

* * *

**TBC...**


	12. Author's note

**Okay, I don't like doing this because people think this is an update when they get the alert, but I've been getting a lot of messages from readers who fear that I've given up on this story. I haven't, I promise. And I won't. I have everything planned out, it's just a matter of actually finding the time to write, which right now is way more complicated than it sounds.**

**I know I said the next chapter would be quick to arrive because it was almost done, and it is, but the last part is giving me some trouble, plus work is crazy and my parents have come to visit so what little time I have I try to spend with them. **

**I will try to update by next weekend. **

**Thanks to all the amazing readers who have not given up on this story either and to those who reviewed... I hit the 100-review mark, yeah! :D**


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